Lady Jane Grey also known as
The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was
de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed. A great-granddaughter of
Henry VIIHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
by his younger daughter Mary, Jane was a first-cousin-once-removed of
Edward VIEdward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
.
In May 1553 Jane was married to
Lord Guildford DudleyLord Guildford Dudley was the husband of Lady Jane Grey who, declared as his heir by King Edward VI, occupied the English throne from 6/10 July till 19 July 1553. Guildford Dudley enjoyed a humanist education and was married to Jane in a magnificent celebration about six weeks before...
, a younger son of Edward's chief minister, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. When the 15-year-old King lay dying in June 1553, he nominated Jane as successor to the Crown in his will, thus subverting the claims of his half-sisters
MaryMary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
and Elizabeth under the
Third Succession ActThe Third Succession Act of Henry VIII's reign was passed by the Parliament of England in July 1543, and returned both Mary and Elizabeth to the line of the succession behind Prince Edward....
. During her short reign, Jane resided in the
Tower of LondonHer Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. She became a prisoner there when the
Privy CouncilA privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
decided to change sides and proclaim Mary as Queen on 19 July 1553.
She was convicted of
high treasonHigh treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
in November 1553, though her life was initially spared.
Wyatt's rebellionWyatt's Rebellion was a popular uprising in England in 1554, named after Thomas Wyatt the younger, one of its leaders. The rebellion arose out of concern over Queen Mary I's determination to marry Philip II of Spain, which was an unpopular policy with the English...
in January and February 1554 against Queen Mary's plans of a Spanish match led to her execution at the age of 16 or 17, and that of her husband.
Lady Jane Grey had an excellent
humanistRenaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
education and a reputation as one of the most learned young women of her day. A committed Protestant, she was posthumously regarded as not only a political victim but also a martyr.
Early life and education
Lady Jane Grey was the eldest daughter of
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of SuffolkHenry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, KG was an English nobleman of the Tudor period and the father of Lady Jane Grey.-Henry VIII's reign:...
, and his wife,
Lady Frances BrandonFrances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk , born Lady Frances Brandon, was the second child and eldest daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Mary Tudor, Dowager Queen of France...
. The traditional view is that she was born at
Bradgate ParkBradgate Park is a public park in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire, England, just northwest of Leicester. It covers 850 acres . The park lies between the villages of Newtown Linford, Anstey, Cropston, Woodhouse Eaves and Swithland. The River Lin runs through the park, flowing into Cropston...
in
LeicestershireLeicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
in October 1537, while more recent research indicates that she was born somewhat earlier, possibly in London, in late 1536 or in the spring of 1537. Lady Frances was the daughter of Mary Tudor, Queen of France, the younger sister of Henry VIII. Jane had two younger sisters,
Lady Catherine GreyLady Catherine Grey , Countess of Hertford, was the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey. A granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary, she was a potential successor to her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, but incurred Elizabeth's wrath by her secret marriage to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford...
and
Lady Mary Grey; through their mother, the three sisters were great-granddaughters of
Henry VIIHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, grandnieces of Henry VIII, and first cousins once removed of Edward VI. Jane received a first-rate
humanistRenaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
education, studying
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
,
GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and
HebrewHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
with John Aylmer, and Italian with
Michelangelo FlorioMichelangelo Florio , born in Lucca, or Florence and died in Soglio, was the son of converted Jews, who became a Franciscan friar, before converting to Protestantism. He was a pastor in both England and Switzerland, and father of the renaissance humanist John Florio.-Life:Michelangelo Florio was...
. Through the influence of her father and her tutors, she became a committed Protestant and also corresponded with the
ZürichZurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
reformer,
Heinrich BullingerHeinrich Bullinger was a Swiss reformer, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Zurich church and pastor at Grossmünster...
.
Jane preferred book studies to hunting parties and regarded her strict upbringing, which was certainly well-meant and typical of the time, as harsh. To the visiting scholar
Roger AschamRoger Ascham was an English scholar and didactic writer, famous for his prose style, his promotion of the vernacular, and his theories of education...
, who found her reading
PlatoPlato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
, she complained:
"For when I am in the presence either of father or mother, whether I speak, keep silence, sit, stand or go, eat, drink, be merry or sad, be sewing, playing, dancing, or doing anything else, I must do it as it were in such weight, measure and number, even so perfectly as God made the world; or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea presently sometimes with pinches, nips and bobs and other ways (which I will not name for the honour I bear them) ... that I think myself in hell."
In early February 1547 Jane was sent to live in the household of
Thomas SeymourThomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, KG was an English politician.Thomas spent his childhood in Wulfhall, outside Savernake Forest, in Wiltshire. Historian David Starkey describes Thomas thus: 'tall, well-built and with a dashing beard and auburn hair, he was irresistible to women'...
, who soon married Henry VIII's widow,
Catherine ParrCatherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
. Jane lived with the couple until the death of Queen Catherine in childbirth in September 1548.
Contracts for marriage
Jane acted as chief mourner at Catherine Parr's funeral, and Thomas Seymour showed continued interest in her, and she was again in his household for about two months when he was arrested at the end of 1548. Seymour's brother, the
Lord ProtectorLord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
,
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of SomersetEdward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
, felt threatened by Thomas' popularity with the young
King EdwardEdward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
. Among other things, Thomas Seymour was charged with proposing Jane as a royal bride.
In the course of Thomas Seymour's following
attainderIn English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...
and execution, Jane's father was lucky to stay largely out of trouble. After his fourth interrogation by the
Privy CouncilA privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
, he proposed his daughter Jane as a bride for the Protector's eldest son,
Lord HertfordSir Edward Seymour, 1st Baron Beauchamp of Hache and 1st Earl of Hertford, KG was the son of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, by his second wife Anne Stanhope....
. Nothing came of this, however, and Jane's next engagement, in the spring of 1553, was to Lord Guilford Dudley, a younger son of
John Dudley, 1st Duke of NorthumberlandJohn Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
. Her prospective father-in-law was then the most powerful man in the country. On 21 May 1553, the couple were married at
Durham HouseDurham House, or Durham Inn, was the historic London residence of the Bishop of Durham in the Strand, with its gardens descending to the Thames.-Origins:...
in a triple wedding, in which Jane's sister
CatherineLady Catherine Grey , Countess of Hertford, was the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey. A granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary, she was a potential successor to her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, but incurred Elizabeth's wrath by her secret marriage to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford...
was matched with the heir of the Earl of Pembroke,
Lord HerbertHenry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke KG was an English peer of the Elizabethan era.-Life:He was the son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Anne Parr. His aunt was queen consort Catherine Parr, last wife of King Henry VIII. Herbert was responsible for the costly restoration of Cardiff Castle...
; and another
CatherineKatherine Hastings , Countess of Huntingdon was an English noblewoman. She was the youngest surviving daughter of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland and his wife Jane Guildford, and a sister of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Elizabeth I's favourite...
, Lord Guilford's sister, with
Henry HastingsSir Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, KG KB was the eldest son of Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole.-Ancestry:...
, the
Earl of HuntingdonFrancis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon, KG was the eldest son of George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon and Anne Stafford, Countess of Huntingdon, the ex-mistress of Henry VIII....
's heir.
Claim to the throne and accession
The
Third Succession ActThe Third Succession Act of Henry VIII's reign was passed by the Parliament of England in July 1543, and returned both Mary and Elizabeth to the line of the succession behind Prince Edward....
of 1544 restored Henry VIII's daughters
MaryMary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
and Elizabeth to the line of succession, although the law regarded them as illegitimate. Furthermore, this Act authorised Henry VIII to alter the succession by his will. Henry's will reinforced the succession of his three children, and then declared that, should none of them leave heirs, the throne would pass to heirs of his younger sister, Mary Tudor, who included Jane (for unknown reasons, Henry excluded Jane's mother, Frances Grey, from the succession). Henry's will excluded the descendants of his elder sister
Margaret TudorMargaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...
, owing in part to Henry's desire to keep the English throne out of the hands of the
ScotsScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
monarchs, and in part to a previous Act of Parliament of 1431 that barred foreign-born persons, including royalty, from inheriting property in England.
When the 15-year-old Edward VI lay dying in the early summer of 1553, his Catholic half-sister Mary was still the heiress presumptive to the throne. However, Edward, in a draft will composed earlier in 1553, had first restricted the succession to (non-existent) male descendants of Frances Brandon and her daughters, before he named his Protestant cousin Jane Grey as his successor on his deathbed, perhaps under the persuasion of Northumberland. Edward VI personally supervised the copying of his will which was finally issued as
letters patentLetters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
on 21 June and signed by 102 notables, among them the whole
Privy CouncilA privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
, peers, bishops, judges, and London aldermen. Edward also announced to have his "declaration" passed in
parliamentThe Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
in September, and the necessary writs were prepared.
Many contemporary legal theorists believed the monarch could not contravene an Act of Parliament without passing a new one that would have established the altered succession; Jane's claim to the throne therefore remained weak. The King died on 6 July 1553. On 9 July Jane was informed that she was now queen, and according to her own later claims accepted the crown only with reluctance. The next day, she was officially proclaimed Queen of England after she had taken up secure residence in the
Tower of LondonHer Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, where English monarchs customarily resided from the time of accession until coronation. Jane refused to name her husband Dudley as king by
letters patentLetters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
and deferred to Parliament. She offered to make him
Duke of ClarenceDuke of Clarence is a title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the English and British Royal families. The first three creations were in the Peerage of England, the fourth in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the fifth in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.The title was first...
instead.
Northumberland faced a number of key tasks to consolidate his
powerPolitical power is a type of power held by a group in a society which allows administration of some or all of public resources, including labour, and wealth. There are many ways to obtain possession of such power. At the nation-state level political legitimacy for political power is held by the...
after Edward's death. Most importantly, he had to isolate and, ideally, capture Lady Mary to prevent her from gathering support. As soon as Mary was sure of King Edward's demise, she left her residence at
HunsdonHunsdon is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England.Hunsdon village centre contains many old houses, some known to date back to at least the 15th century...
and set out to
East AngliaEast Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, where she began to rally her supporters. Northumberland set out from London with troops on 14 July; in his absence the
Privy CouncilA privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
switched their allegiance from Jane to Mary, and proclaimed her queen in London on 19 July among great jubilation of the populace. Jane was imprisoned in the Tower's Gentleman Gaoler's apartments, her husband in the Beauchamp Tower. The new queen entered London in a triumphal procession on 3 August, and the Duke of Northumberland was executed on 22 August 1553. In September, Parliament declared Mary the rightful queen and denounced and revoked Jane's proclamation as that of a usurper.
Trial and execution
Jane and Lord Guildford Dudley were both charged with
high treasonHigh treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
, together with two of Dudley's brothers and the former
Archbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
,
Thomas CranmerThomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...
. Their trial, by a special commission, took place on 13 November 1553, at the
GuildhallThe Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...
in the
City of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. The commission was chaired by
Sir Thomas WhiteSir Thomas White was an English cloth merchant, civic benefactor and founder of St John's College, Oxford.He was born in Reading, Berkshire, the son of William White, a clothier of Reading, and his wife, Mary, daughter of Henry Kibblewhite of South Fawley, also in Berkshire. He was brought up in...
, Lord Mayor of London, and
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of NorfolkThomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was a prominent Tudor politician. He was uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of the wives of King Henry VIII, and played a major role in the machinations behind these marriages...
. Other members included
Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of DerbyEdward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby was an English nobleman.At the age of thirteen, Edward received the titles and estates of his father, the 2nd Earl of Derby, and King Henry VIII took responsibility for bringing him up until he was of age...
and
John Bourchier, 2nd Earl of BathSir John Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Bath, PC was an Earl in the peerage of England. He also succeeded to the titles of 4th Baron FitzWarin, Baron of Daubeney and 4th Count of Eu....
. As was to be expected, all defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death. Jane's sentence was that she "be burned alive on Tower Hill or beheaded as the Queen pleases" (the traditional English punishment for
treasonIn law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
committed by women). However, the
imperialThe Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
ambassador reported to
Charles V, Holy Roman EmperorCharles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
, that her life was to be spared.
The Protestant rebellion of
Thomas Wyatt the youngerSir Thomas Wyatt the younger was a rebel leader during the reign of Queen Mary I of England; his rising is traditionally called "Wyatt's rebellion".-Birth and career:...
in late January 1554 sealed Jane's fate, although she had nothing to do with it directly.
Wyatt's rebellionWyatt's Rebellion was a popular uprising in England in 1554, named after Thomas Wyatt the younger, one of its leaders. The rebellion arose out of concern over Queen Mary I's determination to marry Philip II of Spain, which was an unpopular policy with the English...
started as a popular revolt, precipitated by planned marriage of Mary to the future
Philip II of SpainPhilip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
. Jane's father (the Duke of Suffolk) and other nobles joined the rebellion. Charles V and his ambassadors pressed Mary to execute Jane to put an end to any future focus for unrest. Five days after Wyatt's arrest, Jane and Guilford were executed.
On the morning of 12 February 1554, the authorities took Guilford from his rooms at the Tower of London to the public execution place at
Tower HillTower Hill is an elevated spot northwest of the Tower of London, just outside the limits of the City of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formerly it was part of the Tower Liberty under the direct administrative control of Tower...
and there had him beheaded. A horse and cart brought his remains back to the Tower of London, past the rooms where Jane remained as a prisoner. Jane was then taken out to
Tower GreenTower Green is a space within the Tower of London where two English Queens consort and five other British nobles were executed by beheading. The Tower Green is located on a space south of the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula...
, inside the Tower of London, and beheaded in private. With few exceptions, only royalty were offered the privilege of a private execution; Jane's execution was conducted in private on the orders of Queen Mary, as a gesture of respect for her cousin.
According to the account of her execution given in the anonymous
Chronicle of Queen Jane and of Two Years of Queen Mary, which formed the basis for
Raphael HolinshedRaphael Holinshed was an English chronicler, whose work, commonly known as Holinshed's Chronicles, was one of the major sources used by William Shakespeare for a number of his plays....
's depiction, Jane gave a speech upon ascending the scaffold:
Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same. The fact, indeed, against the Queen's highness was unlawful, and the consenting thereunto by me: but touching the procurement and desire thereof by me or on my behalf, I do wash my hands thereof in innocency, before God, and the face of you, good Christian people, this day.
She then recited
Psalm 51Psalm 51 , traditionally referred to as the Miserere, its Latin incipit, is one of the Penitential Psalms. It begins: Have mercy on me, O God....
(
Have mercy upon me, O God) in English, and handed her gloves and handkerchief to her maid.
John FeckenhamJohn Feckenham , also known as John Howman of Feckingham and later John de Feckenham or John Fecknam, was an English churchman, the last abbot of Westminster.-Under Henry VIII and Edward VI:...
, a Catholic chaplain sent by Mary who had failed to convert Jane, stayed with her during the execution. The executioner asked her forgiveness, and she gave it. She pleaded the axeman, "I pray you dispatch me quickly." Referring to her head, she asked, "Will you take it off before I lay me down?" and the axeman answered, "No, madam." She then blindfolded herself. Jane had resolved to go to her death with dignity, but once blindfolded, failing to find the block with her hands, began to panic and cried, "What shall I do? Where is it?" An unknown hand, possibly Sir Thomas Brydges', then helped her find her way and retain her dignity at the end. With her head on the block, Jane spoke the last words of Jesus as recounted by
LukeThe Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
: "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!" She was then beheaded.
Jane and Guilford are buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula on the north side of Tower Green. Jane's father, Duke of Suffolk, was executed a week after Jane, on 19 February 1554. Her mother, the Duchess of Suffolk, married her Master of the Horse and
chamberlainA chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
,
Adrian StokesAdrian Stokes was an English courtier and politician.Stokes was Master of the Horse to Lady Frances Brandon, daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and married her on 1 March 1555, a year after the executions of Frances' first husband, Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk and her daughter...
in March 1555 (not as often said, three weeks after the execution of the Duke of Suffolk). She was fully pardoned by Mary and allowed to live at Court with her two surviving daughters. She died in 1559.
Legacy
"The traitor-heroine of the Reformation", as historian
Albert PollardAlbert Frederick Pollard was a British historian who specialized in the Tudor period.-Life and career:Pollard was born in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. He was educated at Felsted School and Jesus College, Oxford where he achieved a first class honours in Modern History in 1891...
called her, was merely 16 or 17 years old at the time of her execution. During and in the aftermath of the
Marian persecutionsThe Marian Persecutions were carried out against religious reformers, Protestants, and other dissenters for their heretical beliefs during the reign of Mary I of England. The excesses of this period were mythologized in the historical record of Foxe's Book of Martyrs...
, Jane became viewed as a Protestant martyr for centuries, featuring prominently in the several editions of the
Book of Martyrs by
John FoxeJohn Foxe was an English historian and martyrologist, the author of what is popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, , an account of Christian martyrs throughout Western history but emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the fourteenth century through the...
. The tale of Lady Jane grew to legendary proportions in popular culture, producing a flood of romantic biographies, novels, plays, paintings, and films, one of which was the 1986 production
Lady JaneLady Jane is a 1986 British costume drama romance film directed by Trevor Nunn, written by David Edgar, and starring Helena Bonham Carter as the title character in her first major film role. It tells the story of Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days' Queen, on her reign and romance with husband Lord...
, starring
Helena Bonham CarterHelena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
.
Ancestry
External links