Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane Grey:

Biography by Annabel Petersen

March 31, 2017

Introduction

“The crown is not my right, and pleaseth me not. The Lady Mary is the rightful heir.”

That is what Lady Jane Grey, approximately the 48th ruler of England, said when she received the announcement that she was to become Queen of England. Lady Jane Grey was queen of England for 9 days until she was held captive and beheaded at the age of 16 by order of her cousin/grandmother (in a way), Mary Tudor. Don’t you love happy endings?

October, 1537

Sometime in October, 1537, a beautiful baby girl was born. Her name was Jane Grey. She was born in Leicestershire, England, as the eldest child to Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, and Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk. When Jane was a young child, her parents would hit her when they thought she was misbehaving, even if she was just stating her opinion. I think that they shouldn’t have done this because it hurts, and most of the time she was just stating what she felt was right.

Sisters

A few years later, on August 25th, 1540, Jane’s sister Catherine was born. Jane liked to study, but she would also like to play with her sister.

5 years later, sometime in 1545, Jane’s youngest sister was born. Her name was Mary. Many people say she was a hunchback and pretty small. Jane loved Mary and thought she was really sweet. Jane was eight years older than Mary, and Jane went to court to see King Henry VIII and his sixth wife, Catherine, when she was nine, and came back a year later. Mary was still only very small when Jane came home, so she didn’t remember her very well and was pretty shy.

Jane liked to play with her sisters, but sometimes she thought they were kind of bothersome. It depended on what she was doing and her mood. If she was studying then she probably wouldn’t like them coming in, but if she had some spare time, she would gladly play with them.

Home Life

When Jane was at home in Bradgate Park, she rarely had any privacy. She had a nurse called Mrs. Ellen, many servants, her sisters, a tutor, and occasionally her parents! It really kind of annoyed her because she needed to focus more. When she was studying with one of her tutors, John Aylmer, Jane’s mother allowed Catherine in the room with her. Frances (her mother) believed that when a young girl was left alone, bad things happened. Jane didn’t know what she was talking about.

A Message From the King

When Jane was eight, a young man came by Bradgate dressed in the King’s colors, green and white. His name was Robert, and was probably the son of some Duke or nobleman, likely to be a Lord or a Sir someday. He had a message for Frances and Henry Grey from King Henry VIII. It said that Catherine wished for Jane to stay with them at court for a while. Her parents told her this a little later, but Jane did not wish to go. Her parents chastised her for this, because they thought it would be such an honor, and they were always hungry for more power. So Jane packed up some stuff, got her nurse, her ladies, and her servants, and off they went.

The Arrival

It took them a while to get to court, but when they finally arrived, Jane was greeted by her cousins, Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth, and a cocker spaniel. (One source of mine says that she named her dog Pourquoi, while another one says he was named Rig. They both say he was a boy, though. Let’s call him Pourquoi.) They showed her inside and they chatted together for a while, Edward saying:

“She has a good head on her shoulders,” They looked terrified at each other, realizing what he had said, and then someone else said,

“May it stay there,” whispered Mary.

Later in the evening, they got ready for dinner and Catherine introduced herself. Jane then decided that she wasn’t “pretty”, but she had a pleasing look. Edward said that she wanted them to feel as at home as they could, so they could enjoy themselves. Even later that night, Jane danced with the King! He was good to her, telling her good things about her and her family, and complimenting her on her looks and her wits. Jane went to bed late that night, and fell asleep shortly.

An Interesting Horseback Ride

After a while of staying at court, Catherine, Jane, her parents, a man called Sir Thomas Seymour, and some other people went horseback riding. Jane never really liked to ride horses much, but she had just received a new riding outfit, and felt it only right to go ride with them. Besides, it was one of her duties to accompany the Queen wherever she went.

While they were riding, Catherine was talking to Frances and Henry about how much she adored Jane and things similar to that. Jane knew it wasn’t polite to eavesdrop so she rode on ahead with Sir Thomas and a few other servants. She had grown fond of him during the time she had been at court. They talked for a few minutes about Jane’s studies when suddenly her horse sped ahead of everyone and kept running. Jane did what she had always been told to do, and just held on. Sir Thomas came along behind her and the horse stopped. She had a few cuts and bruises and was spooked and cried for a minute, but Thomas advised her that when everyone else came around the corner to act like everything was fine. She did, and then she was okay. Sir Thomas whispered, “One day I shall adopt you, Jane,” and they started riding along again.

Back to Bradgate

Eventually, Jane had to come home to Bradgate because King Henry VIII had died, and now his son, her cousin Edward who she adored, was King. Her parents didn’t welcome her, as to be expected, but her sisters were kind enough to her. Mary was shy because she had been away since she was an infant. Eventually Mary grew to like Jane, and Jane thought Mary was the sweetest thing. Catherine was happy to see her because she thought Mary was too young to play with so she couldn’t play with anyone. Jane wasn’t too happy about being home because whenever she was home, she was almost always miserable.

Just a few months later, in 1547, Sir Thomas came by Bradgate. He talked to Frances and Henry for a while in private, and then he left. A few weeks later, he came back and spoke to her parents again, but this time he told Jane that she was to join him, Catherine, and Jane’s cousin Elizabeth (Later to be Queen Elizabeth I), at Chelsea Manor because he had married Catherine with approval from King Edward VI. Jane was overjoyed, but her sister Catherine was a little disappointed.

“You have just come home and now you are leaving us?” she asked.

“Yes, but I shall write every day,” promised Jane. So she packed up and left for Chelsea.

Chelsea Manor

Jane was welcomed again by Elizabeth and Catherine. Jane was glad to see Elizabeth, but joyous to see Catherine. Jane adored Catherine and was overjoyed to see her. She had another tutor, the tutor of her old tutor. His name was Roger Ascham. They both liked him but Jane was more dedicated to her studies than Elizabeth, although Elizabeth was more dedicated to her studies than Jane’s sister Catherine.

Suspicious Activity

After spending a little while at Chelsea, Jane woke up one morning to hear screaming and giggling down in Elizabeth’s bedroom. Jane rushed past everything and everyone and peered through the doorway. She saw Thomas leaning over her bed, tickling her in his pajamas. Jane gasped. Thomas must have heard something because he looked over at Jane and said, “Now you’re a good girl. Elizabeth here is a lazy bones. Get out of bed lazy bones!”

Jane ran back to her bedroom. She didn’t know to tell Catherine about it or keep it a secret. This went on for some time, until Jane decided to tell her. She had seen Thomas and Elizabeth in the garden, embracing. They waved and she ran to Catherine’s room and told Catherine about it. Catherine listened to her patiently and then she thanked Jane for her courage. Eventually Catherine told Thomas and he stormed in and yelled at Jane. Catherine calmed him down and told him not to blame it on Jane.

“She did nothing wrong, Thomas,”

Jane silently thanked Catherine for not blaming her.

A New Addition

Some time later, Catherine announced that she was pregnant. They were all very excited about this, and wondered if it would be a girl or a boy, what its name would be, and stuff like that. After a while, Catherine had the baby. It was a girl, and her name was Mary. (So many Marys in those days.) Everyone was overjoyed and so was Catherine, until something went wrong.

Childbed Fever

Catherine had Childbed Fever. It was dreaded then because it would kill the majority of women who got it. Catherine called Thomas into her room, and Jane heard her say that he didn’t love her anymore and that he loved Elizabeth and he never loved her. One day Catherine made her will, and the next day she died. They had to give up Mary to Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk. (Mary was born in 1548. She disappeared from almost all records in 1550, but many people think she grew up and married.) Jane wondered if Thomas would ever forgive her for telling on him about Elizabeth, and she found he never would.

Back to Bradgate (Again)

Thomas wished Jane to go home to Bradgate again, so she did. Her parents made remarks like “She has grown a little,” or “Not enough discipline, you can tell,” as if she weren’t in the room! Her sisters were glad to see her again, but Jane was completely miserable. Her parents and many others thought that Thomas killed Catherine, but Jane swore he didn’t. She loved Thomas and was (almost) always loyal to him. She would occasionally go back to visit them, but that rarely happened. So Jane’s life was really kind of depressing.

Betrothed

One day Jane’s parents told her that she was betrothed to Lord Guildford Dudley, the son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. Jane hated to be betrothed to him, because she hated his father. He was a friend of Henry’s. Jane objected so she was spanked.

“You are fond of your cousin, Lord Grey de Wilton, is that correct?” Henry asked.

“Yes father,” Jane replied.

“We are thinking of him for Mary. Do you approve of that?”

Jane nodded.

“We are also thinking of Lord Constance for her,”

“That pig? Never!”

“If you wish Mary to be betrothed to Lord Grey de Wilton, you shall be betrothed to Guildford Dudley,” Henry ended the conversation.

Jane’s wedding day was on May 25th, 1553, same as her sister Catherine. Catherine was to be betrothed to Lord Henry Herbert, the eldest son of the Earl of Pembroke.

The Big Day

Finally Jane’s big day came. She got ready with her sister Catherine, and left to go to the wedding.

They walked up the aisle to their almost-husbands. Jane said she felt as if she was there but not there at the same time. She heard the priest say you may now kiss the bride. She kissed Guildford unwillingly. They danced and ate and drank afterward. It was a long night for Jane. And now she had to sleep with this boy!

A New Queen

Jane received the terrible news. Edward had died. That was a big blow to Jane and she was miserable. Everyone gathered around her, John Dudley, Guildford, Frances, Henry, Catherine, Mary, many people, and told her was to become Queen Jane. Jane did not like this. She thought that Mary was the rightful heir, even though she was Catholic and Jane was Protestant. Her mother got angry and told her to accept the throne, so she did. She was Queen for nine days, feeling trapped and unhappy.

Jane didn’t love Guildford, but sometimes he would be comforting in ways. She thanked him for that. She had been really unhappy and was not pleased at all.

The Rebellion

Mary married Philip II of Spain. Many people didn’t like this, but they didn’t like Jane being Queen, either. That started a war. There was a rebellion that John Dudley and Jane’s father fought in for her. It only lasted a little over a week, though, because Mary one and became Queen.

The Tower

After Mary won the war, she ordered Jane, Guildford, her parents, John Dudley, and many others to be held captive. She told the people to treat them nicely, though, because Jane and Mary had been friends once. Sometimes Jane was able to see Guildford, but not very often. Jane was in the Tower of London for a long time. She was convicted of treason because she signed her name “Jane the Quene”. It is very outrageous. She was to be beheaded. The original date of her death was February 9th, 1554, but delayed it 3 days in order to give Jane a chance to transfer over to the Catholic faith, but she didn’t budge.

The Execution

Jane walked up to the scaffold and greeted John Feckenham, her executioner. He led her up the steps, blindfolded her, and got her into position.

“Please forgive me, Lady Jane,” Feckenham said.

“I pray you dispatch me quickly,” Jane pleaded.

He raised the axe.

It started to fall.

It was inches away from her neck.

It touched her.

It cut through her neck.

She fell into the eternal rest.

Oh, poor Lady Jane Grey.