‘When diving into the royal history of England, it’s crucial to understand the two types of queen—consort versus regnant. Up until 2011, the English (and then British) throne would automatically pass to the firstborn male heir, whether he was the eldest, the middle, or even runt of the litter. This meant that there was always supposed to be a king, with his wife snagging the title of queen consort. Now, the queen consorts, bless their hearts, didn’t wield much actual power beyond palace gossip and maybe picking the colour scheme for the royal banquet.
‘On the other side, we have the queen regnant. This is a queen who rules in her own right, holding the sceptre and calling the shots. Usually, she’s got a duke or a prince for a hubby, because kings tend to rank higher on the royal pecking order. While we often remember Mary I as England’s first reigning queen (from 1553 to 1558), we often forget that England technically had a queen regnant just before her, whose rule was so short that she is often overlooked. This is the Tudor thriller of Lady Jane Grey, also known as “The Nine Days Queen”.
‘Picture this: young Jane Grey, just fifteen years old, suddenly finds herself queen on 10 July 1553, just days after the passing of King Edward VI, Henry VIII’s sole male heir. Initially, Jane had the nod from the bigwigs—the Privy Council and her formidable father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberland. But then, enter stage left, Mary, Henry VIII’s eldest daughter! With greater public support, Mary marched on London, the crowds cheering her name, and Jane was forced to give up the crown after just nine days on the throne.
‘Poor Jane Grey wasn’t allowed to skip back to class though, as Mary swiftly put Jane on trial for high treason, leading to the quintessential Tudor method of dealing with adversaries—Jane’s beheading in February 1554, at the age of just sixteen. The Tudors certainly had their fair share of drama queens. One could maybe say they were history’s queens of drama!’
‘So, in order to understand Lady Jane Grey’s unexpected stint as queen, we have to go back to the drama-filled era of Henry VIII—England’s notorious Tudor monarch with a penchant for wives and religious revolution. After Henry VII snagged the English Crown at Bosworth Field in 1485, the Tudor dynasty would only be secured by the male line of succession. This led to Henry VIII’s carousel of marriages and desperate quest for a son. Despite multiple marriages, Henry’s offspring seemed to favour the female variety: Mary from Catherine of Aragon, Elizabeth from Anne Boleyn, and finally, a son named Edward from his beloved Jane Seymour.
‘With the Tudor lineage seemingly secure, Henry VIII kicked back, leaving Parliament to tidy up the succession plans—Edward first, then Mary, and if all else failed, Elizabeth. Meanwhile, Henry’s turbulent split from the Catholic Church created the Church of England, unleashing religious ripples that set Catholics and Protestants in England on edge.
‘Jump to 1547, and nine-year-old Edward VI snagged the throne, leaving his older sisters Mary and Elizabeth in the royal waiting room. As the first Protestant-raised monarch, Edward went full steam ahead with religious reforms, shaking up England’s spiritual scene faster than you can say “reformation.”
‘But alas, Edward’s reign was cut short by what is thought to have been tuberculosis in 1553, after just 6 years on the throne. Sensing his imminent demise, Edward penned a “Succession Masterplan,” booting his half-sisters out of the line-up to the throne and passing the baton to his Protestant first cousin once removed—the obscure teenage noblewoman Lady Jane Grey. Jane, the intelligent eldest daughter of Lady Frances and the Marquess of Dorset, was practically raised by Catherine Parr, Henry VIII’s last wife standing. Thanks to Parr’s crash course in religious reform, Jane was like a walking billboard for English protestantism. Edward was sure that with her on the throne, English protestantism would be as safe as the crown jewels in the Tower of London.
‘Enter the scheming mastermind, the Duke of Northumberland—Edward’s chief minister and master puppeteer. Northumberland had convinced Edward to sideline his half-sisters and name Jane as his successor because he said this was needed to maintain England’s protestant path. At the same time, Northumberland orchestrated Jane’s marriage to his son, Guildford Dudley, which took place in May 1553. He was lining his own son up for the top job through Jane. Little did he know, this grand scheme would culminate in Jane’s whirlwind “Nine Days’ Reign,” and add another tumultuous and drama-filled chapter to the Tudor saga.’
‘When Edward VI finally popped his clogs on 6 July 1553, Lady Jane Grey was just minding her own business, getting settled into newlywed life—totally oblivious to the fact that she was about to become the Queen of England. Fast forward three days to the 9th, and Jane gets summoned by the Privy Council to Northumberland’s swanky pad at Syon House in London. She turns up, and they drop the bombshell, “Hey Jane, so you’re the Queen of England now.” Now that is a plot twist that would make Shakespeare proud!
‘Jane reportedly freaked out—like, majorly distressed—and who could blame her? The Privy Council, on their knees trying to swear allegiance, probably regretted delivering the news in such dramatic fashion. I mean, she’s 15 years old and didn’t even have “queen” on her career radar. Suffice it to say, shock was an understatement.
‘Unable to calm down until her mummy, daddy and hubby Guildford showed up, Jane spilled her doubts about not being “queen material.” But parental pressure is real, everyone! Reluctantly, Jane reluctantly—did I mention reluctantly?—accepted the throne.
‘Cut to the next day, 10 July, Jane is officially proclaimed queen and makes a grand entrance to the Tower of London, where English monarchs traditionally stayed between their accession and coronation. Imagine this: Jane, decked out in a lush green velvet gown with her mother playing personal train-carrier, turning heads and raising eyebrows in London. I mean, seeing Mum carry her train was a real “Twilight Zone” moment for the crowd—totally not the usual royal protocol! And as for her blinged-out headdress and neckwear? Let’s just say Jane was rocking enough bling to light up the Tower of London.
‘Amidst the pomp and spectacle, Guildford Dudley, the tall and dashing hubby in his white-and-gold getup, completed the regal scene. Little did Jane know, she would never leave the Tower again.’
‘While in the Tower of London, the hapless young queen was summoned to meet her Council upon arrival at the Tower. As she reluctantly sat on the throne beneath a grand canopy, the Crown Jewels were presented, including the illustrious crown itself. She was encouraged to try the crown on to see how it fit, but the poor teenage queen’s composure broke once more and she refused to wear it. It took the persuasive powers of her councillors to finally convince her to try on the crown. When she was told that a separate crown would be made for her husband Guildford, she said, quite forcefully, that she would not make her husband king, as this required an act of parliament and would mean that he would outrank her. Jane was a very clever young girl and now that she was in the game of thrones, she was going to play it. The Privy Council, perhaps underestimating her resolve, soon discovered that Jane Grey was not one to be manipulated easily; she had entered the realm of power prepared to play by her own rules. She became determined to play her role, and started signing documents “Jane the Queen”.
‘However, things very soon started to fall apart for Queen Jane. No sooner had she stepped over the threshold of the Tower, then a letter arrived from her cousin Mary Tudor – remember her? – demanding to be made queen and their allegiance. She had been rallying support in East Anglia to claim her rightful place on the throne. What really tipped it in her favour was the fact that not just Catholics, but also Protestants, believed that Mary had the rightful claim to the throne as Henry VIII’s eldest daughter. Indeed, the English people had never heard of this teenager Jane. As Northumberland’s schemes unravelled and support for Mary surged, Jane found herself abandoned by the very council that had only a few days previously pledged loyalty to her cause. Left with only her family by her side, Jane’s short-lived reign dissolved into a struggle for survival as the tides of power swiftly shifted away from her.
‘As Mary’s forces marched on London amid public jubilation and support for her claim, the Tower of London witnessed the swift undoing of Jane Grey’s brief reign. Abandoned by her council and surrounded only by her family and husband, Jane faced the harsh reality of relinquishing the crown she had never wanted. When her father came to her to tell her it was all over. Jane is reported to have said “May I not go home now?”. But then her father abandoned her to swear his allegiance to Mary, whilst Jane became a prisoner in the tower that had been her palace just hours before. Meanwhile, across the city, bells rang in celebration and fires blazed in support of Mary’s rightful ascension to the throne, marking the end of Jane’s nine-day reign, a mere footnote in the tumultuous history of Tudor England.
‘Jane’s brief rule was like a Tudor rollercoaster ride—fast, frantic, and over before anyone could finish their tea. A blink and you’ll miss it moment that makes Liz Truss’ time in Number Ten seem like years. Jane Grey had all the makings of a great queen, except, you know, the desire to actually be queen, however those with loftier ambitions than she had forced her to take the throne against her will. Now poor Jane was going to pay the ultimate price for their ambition.’
‘Amid pleas for forgiveness and an acknowledgment of Jane’s coerced rise to the throne, Queen Mary deliberated on Jane Grey’s fate. Although Mary extended clemency to many, she castigated the Duke of Northumberland, the ring-leader of the Jane Grey reign, ultimately leading to his execution on 22 August. From her cell window, Jane watched as her father-in-law, who had converted to Catholicism in a last desperate attempt to save himself, faced his fate—a stark contrast to Jane’s unwavering Protestantism. During her imprisonment, Jane penned many letters to Queen Mary, admitting her guilt and expressing remorse for her role in the orchestrated ascension.
‘Despite Mary feeling somewhat guilty and preferring to pardon Jane, political upheaval thwarted her plans. Jane’s father’s involvement in the Wyatt Rebellion further jeopardised her precarious position. Mary’s impending marriage to Prince Philip of Spain spurred discontent and unrest, which included the Wyatt rebellion, prompting her to remove Jane and her husband, Guildford, as threats to her reign. Queen Mary came up with a compromise – if Jane and Guildford converted to Catholicism, they would be pardoned. But both refused. They were subsequently convicted of high treason and sentenced to death by beheading.
‘On 12 February 1554, the sixteen year old Jane watched from her cell in the Tower of London as her husband was beheaded on the scaffold in the courtyard. Now it was her turn. She approached the scaffold looking, according to many observers, very dignified, holding her head high and reading prayers from the protestant prayer book. You can be sure she wanted to nail down her place in history as a protestant martyr. Up on the scaffold, she asked the executioner to “dispatch her quickly.” A blindfold was tied over her eyes and she reached for the block. When she could not feel it, she began to panic, crying out “Where is it? What shall I do?“. She was assisted in finding the block, then she laid down her head and she was dispatched, at just sixteen years old. There is a famous painting by Paul Delaroche that hangs today in the National Gallery in London that details this scene, although one should bear in mind that this was painted almost 300 years after the event.’
‘Mary I would go on to rule England for five years, and would become known as “Bloody Mary” because of the hundreds of protestants she put to death. However, her reversal of the reformation did not last long, because fell ill and died in 1558 and her sister Elizabeth succeeded her on the throne, and she was protestant. And she re-reformed everything that had been un-reformed under Mary. Elizabeth would go on to rule for forty-five years, which was seen as a golden age in English history.
‘So there you have the story of Lady Jane Grey—a nine-day queen who proved that even the shortest reigns can leave behind fascinating stories, heartbreak and juicy drama for history buffs like us!
‘Now, I enjoyed doing an episode about Tudor history, and I am inspired to perhaps start another History Buff series. I shall be back very soon with more episodes on the Tudors… and possibly joined by a previous guest and fellow history buff!
‘Thanks very much, goodbye!’