When Henry VIII died, his only son Edward became King Edward the Sixth. However, he was so young that an advisor had to be appointed, and at first the position fell to the Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (1506?-52), who became protector of England from 1547-50. Seymour gained the favor of King Henry VIII and was created Earl of Hertford in 1537. When Henry VIII died in 1547, Seymour assumed the protectorate with the consent of Henry's 9-year-old son and successor, Edward VI, who was Seymour's nephew. As Protector, he had almost absolute authority, and assumed the title Duke of Somerset. But his sympathy with the peasant class eventually led to his overthrow by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and Earl of Warwick, who had, after the Scottish rebellion, embarked on a struggle for power with the Seymour family. Dudley was created Duke of Northumberland in 1550 and two years later disposed of his rival, Seymour, by having him tried and executed on false charges. John Dudley was now Joint Regent and Lord Chamberlain of England, having all the authority that Seymour had had, and a few more privileges thrown in.
When it appeared that Edward had a
short time to live (he had been sickly for quite some time), most of England
feared that Edward's sister, Mary Tudor, would come to the throne and make the
Roman Catholic religion England's religion, and cause a bloody civil war. John
Dudley and Henry Grey, the Duke of Suffolk, had a plan—have John's son
Guilford marry Henry's daughter Jane, and place Jane on the throne of England
before Mary had a chance to claim it (Jane was Mary's cousin, so there was some
validity to it–although Mary was rightfully the successor).
Lady Jane was born in Bradgate Park, near Leicester, and was a great-granddaughter of King Henry VII and daughter of Duke Henry and the Third Marquess of Dorset. The arranged marriage took place when Lady Jane was 15 years old, and history is a little dim as to whether or not she even knew the purpose of the marriage. Arranged marriages, you see, were a common thing amongst the Royals at this time, with most being done for power and prestige.
John Dudley's plan was to ultimately change, through Lady Jane, the royal succession upon the death of the ailing Edward, so that he could continue to control the country through her and his son. Though history is again dim as to how John arranged it, Edward did approve the marriage and secured witnesses to a deed declaring Lady Jane his successor.
When Edward died on July 6, 1553, John's plan went into action, and Jane Grey Dudley became Queen of England—for nine days, the shortest span of any English monarch.
What happened was that Edward's half sister, Mary Tudor, who had the legal right to succession, contested the right of Jane to the throne and quickly raised an army. A series of small skirmishes followed, and Queen Jane's Privy Council (her advisors) deserted her. If Jane had not known the purpose of her becoming Queen before, she did now. Mary gained the throne, and charged Jane with usurping the throne, and Lady Jane was subsequently imprisoned in the Tower of London, along with her husband Guilford, his father John Duke of Northumberland, and Jane's father. Jane stayed in the Queen's house, and the rest in the cells of the Towers.
Jane and Guilford were pawns in a
great political scheme, and history proclaims both innocent of their crime.
Queen Mary herself did not want to have Jane beheaded, and was about to release
her when "Wyatt's rebellion" took place–a feeble attempt to restore Jane
(though she knew nothing of it). All knew that the quite, studious, childlike
Jane had not a treasonous bone in her body, but the rebellions had to stop if
Mary had any chance of restoring peace to England.
Jane and Guilford were convicted of
treason, and both were beheaded on February 12,1544. The rest of the family had
already been to the block (and yes, Mary sent so many people to both the stake
and headman's block that history names her "Bloody Mary").
History is also divided about whether or not Jane and Guilford actually loved one another (as I have said, arranged marriages were common), but most researchers are willing to grant that they really may have loved near the end. Additionally, there is some evidence of it. Guilford was imprisoned in the Beauchamp (pronounced "Bee cham") Tower, and there, to this day, can be seen scratched into the walls of his cell the name "JANE" in two different places. Jane herself is said to have asked about the health of her husband on numerous occasions, and one story says they were actually allowed to visit one another once.
Queen Jane was only 16 when her
head rolled from her body. She was one of only six people ever to be beheaded
inside the Tower of London proper–on the "Tower Green." Every one else,
including her husband Guilford, were removed to "Tower Hill" (outside the
Tower) for their executions.
Think you may want the VIDEO?
Buy the Video Today! I was scanning my local Border's Book store flyer, and noticed that
they were having a duo perform that had a, well, quite noticeable name--LADY
JANE GREY!!!! Needless to say, I went over there and checked them out. I liked
them so much I bought their CD. Yes, I talked to them a little, and found that
they DID know of whom they named themselves. They are a contemporary folk group
with Celtic influences (right up my alley), and the lead singer (Sarah Hoover)
plays the cello and adds it in very nicely to some of their songs. (The man is
her husband and songwriter, David Martin) Here is a photo (used with
permission), and a link to their sites. You may order the CD from one of them.
CHECK THEM OUT!!
For their web sites, click
HERE, or, try HERE.
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