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Lady Jane Grey: the "Nine Day Queen"

In the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 podcast History’s Youngest Heroes, Nicola Coughlan shines a light on the extraordinary stories of rebellion, risk, and the radical power of youth, looking at young people throughout history who have changed the world.

One episode focuses on Lady Jane Grey, the “Nine Day Queen”. When King Edward VI fell ill and died at the age of just fifteen, Jane was unexpectedly thrust on to the throne as his successor. It was a power grab by an ambitious Protestant faction – and it failed. Jane was ousted, and later executed at the age of just sixteen.

The tragedy of Jane’s story has resonated with many – but a closer look at the history reveals she was not merely a pawn. In fact, she was a young woman of deep intellectual convictions, who stuck to her principles and faced her own death with unusual resolve.

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Who was Lady Jane Grey?

Jane was born around 1536-37 – we don’t know the exact date. She was descended from the Tudor royal line. She was a gifted scholar who could read and write French, Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and an extremely devout Protestant with a strong interest in theology. From the age of around 13 she was corresponding with leading theologians of the time. Yet her parents – the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk – were not supportive: they believed her job as a girl was to make a good marriage rather than fill her head with ideas. Her parents often beat her.

Lady Jane Grey

Why was Edward VI’s succession so controversial?

Edward was the son of King Henry VIII, who had broken with the Catholic Church and established the Protestant Church of England so he could divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and marry his mistress, Anne Boleyn. That marriage soon ended with Anne on the executioner’s block. Henry quickly remarried Jane Seymour. Henry had one surviving child from each of these marriages: Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward.

Edward succeeded his father in 1547 when he was only nine years old. His older half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth were the natural candidates to follow him in the succession – which became an urgent question as his health started to fail. By 1553, Edward’s closest adviser and guardian was the Protestant noble John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. Northumberland wanted to consolidate his own power – but Mary was a staunch Catholic, and therefore dead set against him; Elizabeth was a Protestant, but Northumberland had no control over her.

Why did Jane’s marriage change things?

In May 1553, Northumberland’s son Guildford Dudley married Jane – allying two ambitious Protestant families. In July, King Edward signed a “Devise” – an addition to his will, declaring his half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth illegitimate and naming Jane as his successor. Days later, at the age of just 15, he died. Jane was summoned by Northumberland and was told she would be Queen. She was shocked: some accounts suggest she tried to refuse.

But her parents and father-in-law reminded her of her religious duty to obey them, and after time in prayer she agreed. Four days later, on 10 July 1553, Jane was proclaimed Queen at the Tower of London.

How did Edward’s oldest half-sister Mary react?

Mary was in Norfolk when she heard she had been ousted from the succession. She wrote to the Privy Council demanding their allegiance. Northumberland refused, and set out with his army to arrest her. He thought she would flee into exile in a Catholic country like France or Spain – but he seriously underestimated her. Much of Norfolk rose to her cause, and she began to gather an army of her own.

Mary Tudor

What was Jane doing back in London?

Jane was preparing for her coronation at the Tower of London – but her relationship with her husband Guildford Dudley was deteriorating. Apart from a brief and disputed claim by the Empress Matilda in the 12th century, England had never been ruled by a woman. Guildford believed that as Jane’s husband he should rule her, therefore he should be crowned King. Jane refused. Guildford set up a rival court in the Tower and started drinking heavily.

Why did Jane step down?

In the face of overwhelming support for Mary, Northumberland had to retreat. As Mary marched on London, Jane’s father advised her to “be content with a private life.” With no base to defend her, Jane abandoned her claim to the throne. Mary became Queen and executed Northumberland.

Why did Mary execute Jane?

She didn’t want to. Though Jane was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death, the new queen knew she had not been the driving force in Northumberland’s plan, and was inclined to mercy. But when Jane’s father the Duke of Suffolk joined a rebellion against Mary the next year, Mary realised Jane – as a Protestant with a claim to the throne – could easily become a rallying point for another rebellion, even if she didn’t lead it. If Jane converted to Catholicism, that would remove the threat, and she would not need to be executed.

Mary sent a Catholic theologian to the Tower of London to convert Jane, and the theologian spent many hours debating with her. But Jane was so strong in her Protestant convictions that it became clear she would rather die than convert. Her beliefs were so strong that she chose them over her life.

Jane was executed on 12 February 1554, shortly after her husband Guildford Dudley. She was composed and stoic at the block, made a speech asking God for mercy, then asked the executioner: “I pray you dispatch me quickly.” She was 16 years old.

Her only surviving possession, her prayer book, is now in the British Library. In it, she wrote: “There is a time to be born and a time to die and the day of our death is better than the day of our birth.”