Welcome to "Monarch Mondays" on Time Trek! Join us every Monday as we delve into the captivating world of England's most famous rulers. In each article, we will uncover a collection of five intriguing facts about these historical figures. Today we will be taking a look at Lady Jane Grey: the nine-day monarch. So without further ado...
Five Facts about.. Lady Jane Grey!
Lady Jane Grey's reign was the shortest in English history
Beating even Liz Truss for the title of "shortest tenure", the uncrowned Lady Jane Grey lasted only nine days as Queen before being deposed. But why was it so short?
Edward VI named Lady Jane Grey as his successor in his will, in an attempt to prevent his sister Mary from inheriting the throne and restoring Catholicism to a now protestant England. However, the legality of this was ambiguous, and he underestimated the support that Mary would be able to attract from the wider nobility.
Mary had been confirmed as an heir to the throne by her father, Henry VIII, in the Third Succession Act of 1543. This Act stated that, should Edward VI die without issue, Mary would be next in line. Because of this, she was viewed by many as the rightful heir to the throne.
To thunderous applause, Mary rode into London on 3rd August 1553 to claim her crown. With Jane deposed, Mary took the throne and became Mary I, later to be known to history as "Bloody Mary".
Lady Jane Grey was accused of treason
Following her deposition, Lady Jane Grey was imprisoned in the Tower of London by Mary for high treason.
Mary, being the eldest daughter of a king, and her place in the line of succession having been ratified by an Act of parliament, undoubtably had a strong claim to the throne. She saw herself as the lawful successor to Edward VI, and the rightful Queen.
With this, Lady Jane Grey w0uld go on to be named a treasonous usurper of the throne and would eventually be executed on 12th February 1554.
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| "The execution of Lady Jane Grey", 1833 |
Mary I initially spared her life
Lady Jane was not immediately destined for the chopping block. In the days after the deposition, Mary set out to treat Grey with kindness and respect with the hope of gaining her loyalty. However after Grey's father, the Duke of Suffolk, led a rebellion in 1554, concerns were raised that Lady Jane may one day herself follow in the footsteps of her father. Encouraged by her council to eliminate this potential threat to the throne, Mary ordered Jane's execution.
She was incredibly well educated
Despite growing up in a time when women were not always afforded education of the same standard as their male counterparts, Jane appears to have had an excellent one. She studied a broadly humanist education under the wing of renowned scholar John Aylmer, where she was exposed to subjects such as history, philosophy and literature.
She appears to have been fluent in Greek, Latin, Italian and Hebrew.
She was a great-niece of Henry VIII
Jane's mother, Frances Brandon, was the daughter of Henry VIII's sister Margaret Tudor. This not only made her a great-niece of Henry VIII, but also a great-granddaughter of Henry VII. However, as she was descended from Henry VII solely through her maternal line, Lady Jane Grey's claim to the throne would have been viewed as very weak by her contemporaries. It was only after Edward VI named her as his successor in his will that her claim was strengthened somewhat.
Quickfire Round (Google's FAQs)
1. What were Lady Jane Grey's last words?
After asking her executioner to "dispatch of [her] quickly", Jane placed her head on the chopping block and is said to have uttered the words "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit", a quote taken from the New Testament.
2. Did Lady Jane Grey have a child?
Jane had no children.
3. What was Lady Jane Grey's age at death?
Jane's exact year of birth is not known for certain, but she is thought to have been born in 1536 or 1537. This would have made her only 16 or 17 at the time of her death.
4. Who was Lady Jane Grey's husband?
Jane was married to Lord Guildford Dudley in 1553, a British nobleman. He was executed alongside his wife in February 1554, at the age of 18 or 19.
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