SOMERSET NEWS: TV debut on Six Wives all too much for baby Ashton – he slept through it!

NOT many seven-week-old babies get the chance to take a starring role in a BBC TV series – but step forward, or should that be crawl forward, Somerset’s little Ashton Hayward.

Ashton was seen by millions on Wednesday (December 14, 2016) night’s second episode of Six Wives – a docu-drama about Henry VIII and his many wives.

And little Ashton was such a natural on set – that he took on two roles.

He was originally cast to play baby Prince Edward, the son of wife number three Jane Seymour, the much longed-for baby boy wanted by the King.

But so pleased were the producers with Ashton’s acting “skills” they decided to double his workload.

Mum Claire said: “He was so good playing Prince Edward and so contented that the producers also used him to play Princess Elizabeth as well!”

The filming took place in May 2016 and proud parents Claire and Kevin, plus Ashton’s older brothers and sisters, excitedly sat to watch his acting debut on TV at home in Yeovil. Unfortunately, it was all too much for Ashton, now aged eight months, and he slept through the entire episode!

PHOTO – TOP: Pictured (from left) is Six Wives presenter Lucy Worsley, baby Ashton (centre) as Prince Edward with actress Elly Condron who played Jane Seymour, and baby Ashton fast asleep at home in Yeovil while the episode he appears in is being screened on TV.

PHOTO – RIGHT: It’s official – Ashton Hayward’s name in the cast list for Six Wives in the Radio Times!

Six Wives with Lucy Worsley is a mixture of historical summary and dramatic re-enactment and is proving to be a real hit with viewers as it is goes a long way to explaining the story of King Henry and his wives which makes for a better storyline than any soap opera.

Most of the filming was carried out at the National Trust’s Barrington Court near Ilminster and when Claire heard that the programme was looking for a baby – she thought it was too good an opportunity to miss with Ashton still very much the babes in arms.

“It was amazing,” she said. “Although Ashton is obviously far too young to know anything about it – we’re sure to remind him as he gets older about the time he played a Prince and a Princess on the BBC!

“We went to Barrington Court for the filming and everyone was so lovely. All the cast like King Henry (Scott Arthur) and Jane Seymour (Elly Condron) and Lucy Worlsley gave him loads of cuddles right from the minute we arrived on set for breakfast.

“It was just an amazing experience.”

So what happened to the baby Princess and Prince played by Ashton?

Prince Edward, the son of Henry’s third wife Jane Seymour, was born on October 12, 1537, and was crowned King of England and Ireland when he was aged just nine on January 28, 1547, following the death of his father.

PHOTO - RIGHT: We are not sure whether that is baby Ashton playing Princess Elizabeth or Prince Edward on set during the making of Six Wives!

Due to his young age the realm was governed by a Regency Council and was first led by his uncle Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset.

Tragically King Edward VI fell ill in 1553, aged 15, with a terminal illness and he died on July 6 that year.

His death led to a turbulent number of years for the monarchy with Lady Jane Grey holding a disputed title of Queen for just nine days between July 10-19, 1553, before the Privy Council switched allegiance and proclaimed Edward VI’s half-sister Mary, the daughter of Henry’s first wife Catherine of Aragon, the rightful Queen and she and her husband, Philip, sat on the throne from July 19,1553, through to November 17, 1558.

Princes Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry’s second wife Anne Boleyn, was born on September 7, 1533, and went on to become Queen Elizabeth I from November 17, 1558, following the death of her half-sister Mary.

Queen Elizabeth I ruled until her death on March 24, 1603, at the age of 69. She had been on the throne for 44 years.

For the record and a quick history lesson – here we go with King Henry’s six wives. Catherine of Aragon – married for nearly 24 years from 1509 to 1533 before divorce; Anne Boleyn – married for nearly three years from 1533 to 1536 before being beheaded; Jane Seymour – married for one year and four months from 1536 to 1537 and died from complications of childbirth; Anne of Cleves – married for six months in 1540 before divorce; Catherine Howard – married for just over one year from 1540 to 1541 before being beheaded; Catherine Parr – married for three-and-a-half years from 1543 to 1547 before the King died at the age of 55.

PHOTOS - ABOVE: Queen Elizabeth I who ruled from 1558 to 1603 and King Edward VI who ruled from 1547 to 1553. They were both excellently played by Ashton Hayward, aged seven months, when they were born in the BBC docu-drama series Six Wives.

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