“[Jane] supervised the preparations of the official announcements of the birth from her bed. It was traditional for the queen to announce the birth herself […] Jane was also expected to play a very public role in the christening of her son and, on 15 October, she was wrapped by her attendants in velvet and furs to guard against the cold and carried to the christening on a special sofa prepared for the occasion. By convention, neither Henry nor Jane attended the christening and they waited in an anti chamber as the baby was carried away in a grand procession. Jane would also been glad of the prominence given to Mary and to members of her family, and Mary stood as godparent with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Duke of Norfolk. Jane’s kinsman, Sir Francis Bryan, also had a prominent role as one of the gentlemen dressed in aprons and holding towels as they took charge of the font. Edward Seymour was prominently placed, carrying the four-year-old Princess Elizabeth, who made a rare visit to court. The gentlemen in the procession walked in pairs, carrying unlit torches before them. The children and ministers of the king’s chapel followed. The knights, chaplains and other members of the nobility also walked in pairs. Following them, the prince was brought, carried carefully by the Marchioness of Exeter and assisted by her husband and the Duke of Suffolk. Jane’s son was dressed in a great robe with a long train borne by Lord William Howard and, over the prince’s head, a canopy was held by a number of gentlemen, including Thomas Seymour. Jane felt proud as she watched the procession go by and she and Henry would have talked quietly about their son and their hopes for the future as they waited for the procession to return.”
— Elizabeth Norton, Jane Seymour
