Jane was born in 1537 at her family’s estate, Bradgate Manor, in Leicestershire. She was the eldest of three sisters born to Henry Grey, Marquess of Dorset, and his wife, Lady Frances Brandon. (Mary, Henry VIII’s younger sister, was Frances’ mother.)
Frances was a cruel abusive and domineering woman who found fault with her eldest daughter. Jane was often bullied and whipped so she sought solace in her studies.
Edward VI
Henry VIII died, leaving his young son Edward as king under the control of his uncle Somerset, the Lord Protector.
Somerset’s younger brother, Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour, persuaded Jane’s parents to sell her wardship for £2,000 to arrange a marriage to the King. Jane was sent to live in Seymour’s household. Dowager-Queen Katherine Parr secretly married Seymour shortly after Henry VIII’s death and her household was similar to a finishing school. Elizabeth I was also under Katherine’s care.
Katherine provided the best reformist scholars and a rigorous curriculum and encouraged Jane’s education in a loving, nurturing environment. They shared similar intellectual interests, a love of learning and a passion for the “new” religion-Protestantism.
Unfortunately, Katherine died on 5 September 1548, a week after giving birth to a daughter. Jane was the chief mourner at Katherine’s funeral, as she sorely missed her kind benefactress, when she was returned to her parents’ home.
Seymour’s plans came to naught when he was executed for treason a year later.
Edward was dying of tuberculosis so the Duke of Northumberland persuaded him to change his will so Jane inherited the throne, rather than the fanatically Catholic Mary.
He conspired with Jane’s parents and she was forced into marriage with Northumberland’s son Guildford. Jane objected as she was already contracted to Edward Seymour. Her parents whipped her until she agreed to marry Guildford.
They were married amidst pomp and ceremony at Durham House, Northumberland’s riverside London mansion on 25 May 1553. Edward VI sent gifts as he was too ill to attend.
Queen of England
Edward died on 6 July 1553 but Northumberland concealed his death as long as possible. Jane was proclaimed Queen four days later. Jane was horrified as she had no desire to wear the crown. She prayed God would help her govern England.[1]
Jane was only fifteen, so her parents and Northumberland assumed she would do exactly as she was told. However, Jane had a mind of her own as she took her new responsibilities far more seriously than Northumberland anticipated.
Jane refused to make her husband king, much to her in-laws’ fury, because he was not of the blood royal.
Mary I
Mary gathered her many supporters in East Anglia, declared herself Queen and defeated Northumberland. (Many defected to her side as they detested Northumberland.)
Jane’s father, now the Duke of Suffolk, declared for Mary. Jane parents had deserted her, as they left London. She was now a prisoner in the Tower of London.
Northumberland was executed. Jane was tried and condemned for treason, but Mary spared her life.
Thomas Wyatt opposed Mary’s marriage to Philip of Spain so he and his supporters took up arms against the Queen. Jane was regarded as a Protestant figurehead so Mary reluctantly agreed to her execution. Jane’s mother, who remained a close personal friend of Mary’s, made no effort to intercede on her behalf.
Jane was beheaded on 12 February 1554 on Tower Green. She was buried in the chapel of St Peter-ad-Vincula between Henry VIII’s two Queens, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard.
Sources:
Crofton, Ian, The Kings and Queens of England
Erickson, Carolly, Royal Panoply
Fraser, Antonia, The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Gold, Claudia, Queen, Empress, Concubine: Fifty Women Rulers from the Queen of Sheba to Catherine the Great
Plowden, Alison, Tudor Women: Queens & Commoners
Ritchie, Robert, Historical Renaissance of the Renaissance
Ross, Josephine, The Tudors
Schama, Simon, A History of Britain: At The Edge of the World 3000BC-AD1603, Volume 1
Starkey, David, Monarchy: From the Middle Ages To Modernity, HarperCollins Publishers, London, 2006
Weir, Alison, Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy,
Weir, Alison, Henry VIII King and Court
Weir, Alison, The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Wilson, Derek, The Tower of London
[1] Crofton, I, The Kings and Queens of England, Quercus, London, 2006, p 140
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