The Story of Lady Jane

Lady Jane Grey (1537 - 1554)

In the autumn of 1537, Jane Grey was born the great-granddaughter of Henry VIII and the daughter of the Marques of Dorset. At the age of 10, her Protestant and academic education began under the direction of Henry’s last queen, Katherine Parr.

In 1551, Jane’s father, the Duke of Suffolk, presented Jane to the court of young King Edward VI, where real power lay in the hands of the regent, the avidly Protestant Duke of Northumberland. Northumberland saw to it in 1553 that Jane was married to his son, Lord Guildford Dudley.

When Edward was dying, Northumberland sought to prevent the throne passing to Edward's half-sister, the Catholic Mary Tudor, by persuading King Edwardto declare Mary and Edward’s other half sister illegitimate, which would allow the crown to pass to Protestant Jane.

Four days after Edward died, Jane was proclaimed queen, much to her later displeasure. So many of Mary Tudor’s Catholic supporters rose up that even Suffolk, Jane’s father withdrew his support for his daughter and attempted to save himself by proclaiming Mary queen and persuading Jane to give up the throne after only nine days.

Mary imprisoned Jane and her husband and father in the Tower of London, but later pardoned Jane’s father and suspended Jane’s death sentence for high treason.

Jane might have survived the debacle, but a few months later her father joined Sir Thomas Wyatt’s failed rebellion in 1554 and caused Jane and her husband to be beheaded on 12 February. Jane’s father was beheaded two days later.