Lady Jane Grey inherits the crown from her cousin Edward VI

 

 On this day - 9th July 1553 
.
 Lady Jane Grey inherits the crown from her cousin Edward VI 

.
Lady Jane Grey remains one of the most compelling and tragic figures in Tudor history.

She possessed royal blood through her grandmother, Princess Mary Tudor - and it would be this heritage that brought her to the scaffold in 1554....

 Lady Jane Grey was born October 1537, her exact date of birth is unknown, but its generally thought to have been on or around the 13th.

Jane was the eldest child of Lord Henry and Lady Frances Grey, the duke and duchess of Suffolk.

 Jane was raised, with her two sisters, at the family home of Bradgate, on the edge of Charnwood Forest.

It was a beautiful and luxurious estate, suited to the Grey’s semi-regal status.
Jane's mother Lady Frances, as a niece of Henry VIII, was very conscious of her royal heritage.

She and her husband were well-known for their love of riding, hunting, hawking and gambling.

 Jane's life began with promise and high expectations.

She received an excellent level of education, and was destined to marry into a well-positioned family.

When Jane was 10, she went to live with Dowager Queen Katherine Parr and her new Husband, Thomas Seymour.

Seymour, was Prince Edwards Uncle, and he hoped he could marry the young Jane, to the future King.

 In 1553, the beautiful and intelligent Jane, married Lord Guildford Dudley - son of the Duke of Northumberland.

For many, Jane and Guildford’s marriage marks the beginning of the attempt to change the line of succession.

When Henry VIII died in 1547, his only son Edward became King.

 Edward was a sickly 10 year old at the time of his coronation, and was easily manipulated by Jane's Father-in-Law, the fiercely Protestant John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland.

Dudley acted as regent to the young king.

In January 1553, it was clear Edward was dying, and Dudley was desperate to prevent the throne from passing to Edward’s half-sister, Mary Tudor, a devout Catholic.

John Dudley successfully convinced Edward to continue to support the Protestant Reformation, by declaring Lady Jane Grey as his successor.

 King Edward VI died on 6th July 1553.
On Sunday 9th July, Jane was summoned to Syon House, to be told that according to King Edward’s instructions, she was now to be crowned queen.

15-year-old Jane's reluctance to accept the Crown over Mary Tudor, fell on deaf ears.

On Monday 10th July 1553, the new Queen Jane was taken in full state to Westminster.

They dined at the Dudley home, Durham House, and then journeyed by barge again to the Tower of London.

It was an ancient custom that all new sovereigns must come to the Tower and take possession of it at the beginning of their reigns.

 There was an eyewitness account by a Genoese merchant named Baptista Spinola.

He was standing with a group of spectators outside the main Tower gates, waiting to catch a glimpse of this new queen.

He wrote:

"Queen Jane is very short and thin, but prettily
shaped and graceful.

She has small features and a well-made nose, the
mouth flexible and the lips red.

The eyebrows are arched and darker than her hair,
which is nearly red.

Her eyes are sparkling and reddish brown in color.
Her complexion was good, unmarked by the pox,
but freckled.

She has sharp white teeth and a lovely smile.
Because she was so short, she wore chopines, to
make her appear taller.

Her gown was made of green velvet stamped with
gold.
Her husband Guildford was a very tall strong boy
with light hair and clothed in white and silver velvet.
He paid Jane much attention."

 Once in the Tower, Jane was installed in the royal apartments.

Jane was visited by the Lord Treasurer, who brought a selection of the royal jewels for her to try on.

Among them was the crown.......

 It became evident that Jane’s hold on England was flimsy at best.

Jane’s rule evaporated, when it became obvious that the unpopular Dudley, was behind the scheme.

Facing strong opposition from Mary Tudor and Parliament, citing the 1544 Law of Succession, Jane quickly found herself losing her supporters ~ even her father abandoned her.

Her father tried to save himself, by supporting Mary as the rightful Queen of England.

The council didn't buy it and declared him a traitor.

 On 19th July 1553, Jane’s nine-day reign ended, and she was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

John Dudley was condemned for high treason and exEcuted on 22nd August.

On 13th November, Jane and her husband, Guildford Dudley, were both found guilty of treason, and sentenced to death.

 Because of their youth and relative innocence, Queen Mary I was reluctant to carry out the sentences.

Mary firmly believed her cousin was innocent of any intrigue and Jane had never intended to be queen, but had been the unwilling puppet of Dudley.

She could not put this innocent young woman to death.

 This all changed when Jane's father, Henry Grey, sealed Jane's fate - and that of her husband.

He joined Sir Thomas Wyatt’s rebellion against Mary, after she announced that she intended to marry Philip II of Spain.

Mary offered to spare the young couples lives, if they converted to the Catholic faith.

Always pious, Jane was by now a passionately devout Protestant.
They both refused.

With reluctance, Mary accepted the Privy Council’s advice and ordered Jane and Guildford’s exEcution.

 At 10am, on the morning of 12th February 1554, Jane watched as her husband was sent to the exEcutioner’s block.

Jane dressed soberly for the occasion, as befitted a proper young lady, she was clad all in black.
She wore a black cloth gown, black cape trimmed with velvet, and a black French hood trimmed with velvet.

At her girdle hung a prayer book also bound in black velvet.
She held a book of prayers open in her hands.

 The young woman remained calm, as she walked to the scaffold on Tower Green.

As she stood before the chopping block, she is believed to have said -

"Good people, I am come hither to die,
and by a law I am condemned.

The fact indeed against the Queen’s Highness was
unlawful and the consenting thereunto by me…

I do wash my hands thereof in innocency before
the face of God and the face of you good Christian
people this day."

 Jane then asked the exEcutioner, to ‘despatch her quickly’ who then tied a blindfold, around her eyes.

As she groped for the block, she became panicked and she cried

"What shall I do?
Where is it?"

As someone stepped in to help, Jane laid her head on the block.
She spoke her last words:

"Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit"

The axe fell.
Jane was just 17 years old.....

The Tudor Intruders (and more)

.

 Source ~ englishhistory/lady-jane-grey

.
 The Streatham Portrait of Lady Jane Grey c.1590's