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Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days' Queen

ady Jane Grey was the daughter of Henry Grey, the Duke of Suffolk. Henry was related through his great-grandmother, Elizabeth Woodville, to King Edward IV of England whom she married. Elizabeth Woodville was married first to Sir John Grey who died in 1461 and had a son, Thomas Grey, who was forced into exile by King Richard III. When Henry VII became king, Thomas Grey returned to England and was granted the title Marquess of Dorset.

Lady Jane's mother was Frances Brandon, the daughter of Mary Tudor and Charles, Duke of Suffolk. Mary Tudor was the younger sister of King Henry VIII and had married the much older King of France Louis XII. Their marriage was quickly ended when the French King died. She then married Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, Lady Jane's father.

Through her links to King Henry VIII Jane was also first cousin once removed of Prince Edward, the future King Edward VI of England, and his sisters Mary Tudor and Elizabeth, both of whom would become queens of England.

Jane was born in around 1537 possibly at her father's estate Bradgate in Leicestershire. She was given an exceptional education by her tutor Aylmer, the future Bishop of London. Under his guidance she was acquainted with the Scriptures and the Reformation. Edward VI, her cousin, was a companion and they most likely shared lessons together. Her love of learning led her to prefer to read and solitude rather than the pageant that would have been more normal for a young noble child.

The life of Lady Jane was forever altered by the death of King Henry VIII. When Henry died his son Edward became King of England. Edward was only nine years old when he was crowned and too young to rule the country unaided so he was appointed a protector to govern England on his behalf. He was Edward Seymour, the duke of Somerset. The Duke of Somerset was the brother of Jane Seymour, Edward's mother and because he was the uncle of the new king, was made Lord Protector.

But the duke of Somerset had a rival, John Dudley, the duke of Northumberland. Dudley had been given the title of Earl of Warwick and had fought bravely in the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh where the Scots were badly defeated forcing Mary Queen of Scots to be hidden at Inchmahome Priory located on an island on lake Menteith.

Episode Events
Episode Events

1547

King Henry VIII died at Whitehall Palace at the age of 55. He was buried in St. George's Chapel Windsor next to Jane Seymour, his favourite wife.
Edward Seymour, the Earl of Hartford, and Duke of Somerset was given the title Lord Protector and was given the task of ruling England while Edward VI was too young to rule unaided.
The coronation of King Henry VIII's son Edward took place at Westminster Abbey. He was crowned as Edward VI.
Jealous of his elder brother's power Thomas Seymour married Catherine Parr to enter the household of the young King Edward and the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. ¹
A condition of King Henry VIII's will was the marriage of his son Edward to Mary, Queen of Scots. It was his hope to unite the two nations. But the Scottish refused to comply. So Somerset, the Protector of England took an army in Scotland. These events were part of a series known as the 'Rough Wooing'.
Thousands of Scots gathered near the town of Musselburgh, just to the east of Edinburgh. They faced an English army led by the Duke of Somerset. The Scots had a good position on the battle field but wasted it when they attacked. The Scots were heavily defeated. The defeat at Pinkie Cleugh was a threat to Mary, Queen of Scots, and so she was secretly moved from Stirling Castle to the Augustinian Inchmahome Priory located on an island on lake Menteith. ¹

1548

On the 30th of August Catherine gave birth to a girl, Mary Seymour. As a result of the birth Catherine became ill and died several days later.

1549

Thomas Seymour, the Protector's brother, had married the late king's widow Catherine Parr. Suspicion fell on Thomas after the untimely death of Catherine in late 1548 and it was suspected that he wanted to marry Elizabeth, King Henry VIII's daughter. He may have also tried to bribe the young king Edward VI into giving him more power. Thomas was arrested, charged with treason and sent to the Tower of London. Without much of a trial he was exectuted.
As a result of the Dissolution of the Monasteries land ownership changed and where previously villagers had access to the land it was now fenced off just to allow sheep to graze. This made village life difficult and in East Anglia resulted in a rebellion. Lead by Robert Kett, a landowner himself who had sympathy for the rights of the poor, the rebels set-up camp at Mousehold Heath near Norwich and then took possession of the city itself. An army was sent by the government to put down the rebelion. The rebels were no match for the trained army led by John Dudley, the duke of Northumberland and the leaders were captured. Robert Kett was hanged as a traitor.

1553

Edward VI signed a change to his earlier will or 'devise' and nominated Lady Jane Grey as heir to the English throne. The change was orchestrated by the John Dudley, duke of Northumberland and Sir John Gates. Lady Jane Grey had married the Duke's son Guilford Dudley a few months earlier and the will initially stated that Jane's male heirs would be next in line in inherit the Crown of England. This was altered when it was seen that Edward would die before Jane had any children so that Jane herself would become Queen.
Mary Tudor called for support against the Duke of Northumberland and Lady Jane Grey. Large numbers of supporters gathered around her at Kenninghall Manor in Norfolk with supplies and weapons.
King Edward VI died at Greenwich Palace as the age of 15.
The Duke of Northumberland proclaimed that his daughter-in-law Lady Jane Grey was the next monarch of England. Jane was moved to the Tower of London. Although Northumberland controlled London many of the town's people supported Mary Tudor's claim to the throne.
The Duke of Northumberland and an army of some 3,000 men travelled to Cambridge in an attempt to stop Mary Tudor. Moving on to Bury St. Edmunds the Duke came up against a much larger army supporting Mary. Accepting defeat, Northumberland was arrested and taken back to London to be held in the Tower of London. ¹
Mary Tudor arrived at London to a huge welcome. Entering through Aldgate she was met by Elizabeth, Anne of Cleves and many others. Mary quickly ordered the release of her supporters that had been locked up at the Tower of London. The Duke of Northumberland and his supporters were placed in the Tower of London to await trial and execution.
The funeral service for the late King took place at Westminster Abbey.
The coronation of Mary Tudor took place at Westminster Abbey. Mary became the first true Queen of England. In the past, Matilda and Lady Jane Grey had come close but neither had ever been crowned.
The archbishop of York was arrested on charges of treason and sent to the Tower. His homes were raided and his riches were stolen.
Archbishop Cranmer, Lady Jane Grey and her husband were all found guilty of treason.

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