Lady Jane Grey was the titular queen of England in 1553, but she only reigned for nine days. Her enthronement was part of her father-in-failed law’s attempt to enthrone his own son, Lord Guildford Dudley. Because of her evil mother’s manipulations and dishonest political games, she became a legendary figure after her execution at the hands of Mary Tudor. Despite her reluctance to take over the kingdom because she considered herself incompetent and undeserving, Edward VI was forced to name her as heiress after being misled and deceived by Dudley. Her reign, however, was short-lived, since she was seized and accused of high treason by Mary, who declared herself queen with the support of the people and the Privy Council. As a result, she was dubbed the ‘Nine Day Queen.’ Her death sentence, which had been suspended at first, was revoked during Sir Thomas Wyatt’s Protestant insurrection, resulting in her and her husband’s execution. Despite her brief reign as queen, which lasted only nine days, she is nevertheless remembered as one of England’s most powerful empresses. During the reign of her Protestant relative, Queen Elizabeth I, she was revered as a martyr. She had a desire for learning and became adept in numerous languages under the tutelage of her instructors, despite the fact that she died young.
Childhood and Adolescence
Lady Jane Grey was the eldest daughter of Marquess of Dorset, Henry Grey, and Lady Frances Brandon, daughter of Henry VIII’s sister, Mary Tudor, and was born in October 1537 at Bradgate Park, Leicestershire.
She was Henry VII’s great-granddaughter, along with her two younger sisters, Lady Catherine Grey (1940) and Lady Mary Grey (1945).
She never had a close relationship with her parents as a result of her rigid upbringing and her mother’s aggressive behavior. Her instructors taught her Greek, Italian, Latin, French, Hebrew, and English at a young age.
At the age of nine, she went to live in the household of Queen Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth and final queen, who married her love, Thomas Seymour, Lord Admiral, after the latter’s death.
She was designated a ward of Seymour, who proposed her marriage to his nephew, King Edward VI after she became the primary mourner at Parr’s burial, who died in labor in 1548.
Following her father’s ascension as Duke of Suffolk in 1551, she returned to Bradgate to pursue her studies and began making appearances at the royal court.
Parr grew up to be a pious and devout Protestant, influenced by the milieu around her home.
Reign & Accession
John Dudley became the Duke of Northumberland and King Edward VI’s top advisor in 1551, making him the most powerful man in England behind the King.
Dudley persuaded Edward to change the line of succession in favor of the male heir born to Jane’s mother, or Jane and her male heirs, so that his son may be crowned king in the end.
Under the persuasion of Dudley, Edward, who was suffering from measles and TB, nominated Jane as his heir in June 1553, dismissing his half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth as illegitimate.
Despite being hesitant and claiming Mary to be the real heir and herself incapable of taking command, she was told of Edward’s death two days later on July 9, 1553, following her assumption of the kingdom.
On July 10, 1553, she was formally proclaimed Queen of England at the Tower of London, but she refused to acknowledge her husband asking, declaring him the Duke of Clarence instead.
On July 14, 1553, as word of Edward’s death spread, Mary, a devout Roman Catholic, set out for East Anglia and began assembling followers, while Dudley led his forces from London to intercept her.
Jane’s popularity began to wane, and the people demanded Mary’s coronation. On July 19, 1553, the whole Privy Council, with the exception of her father and Cranmer, went to support Mary and openly proclaimed her Queen.
Jane and her husband were arrested and imprisoned at the deputy lieutenant’s mansion, where all of her goods and money were taken away, and she was even accused of robbing the royal residence of valuable artifacts.
Prior to Mary’s triumphal march to London in early August 1553, the entire Dudley family was arrested and carried through the streets, where they were bombarded with insults and filth by the public.
Her father was imprisoned in the Tower for high treason but was released after her mother made a direct appeal to Mary. It’s worth noting that no attempt was made to free Jane.
Jane, her husband, two brothers-in-law, and Cranmer were put on trial after Dudley’s execution on August 22, 1553, and were found guilty and sentenced to death in November 1553.
Even though her sentence was deferred, her father’s support for Sir Thomas Wyatt’s Protestant insurrection in January 1553 nullified the judgment and sealed her fate, despite the fact that she was innocent.
Her execution was set for February 9, 1554, but Mary postponed it for three days in the hopes of converting her to Catholicism and pardoning her, which she refused.
Personal History and Legacy
She was brutally tortured and forcibly married to John Dudley’s youngest son, Lord Guildford Dudley, in May 1553 at Dudley’s London mansion, Durham House, despite her pleas and reluctance.
Her sister Catherine married Lord Herbert, Earl of Pembroke’s heir, in a triple wedding, while Lord Guildford’s sister Katherine married Henry Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon’s heir.
Due to her royal pedigree, she was killed discreetly in a room at Tower Green, inside the Tower, on February 12, 1554, after her husband was publicly beheaded at Tower Hill.
St. Peter ad Vincula Chapel, on the north side of Tower Green, was where she and Guildford were laid to rest.
Her mother remarried Adrian Stokes, a 21-year-old chamberlain, possibly within a month of the murder of her daughter and husband, while her father was executed 11 days later.
Estimated Net worth
The estimated Net Worth of Lady Jane Grey is Unknown.