The Tragedy of Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane Grey, a figure overshadowed in the Tudor tapestry by figures like Henry VIII and Mary I played a brief but important role in history. Her figure remains one of mystery and tragedy. She was the eldest daughter of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk and is said to have been possibly named after Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour. Seymour Jane. Known by many as the "nine day Queen," Jane reigned from July 10 to July 19, 1553.

Early Life And Slow Accession To The Throne

Lady Jane Grey , born in early October 1537, had an ardent dedication to learning, and exhibited it by dedicating herself to classical languages, and Protestantism, favouring Plato’s works over sports, hunting and other typical aristocratic pastimes. She was sent to the Seymour house to learn courtly etiquette and further her prospects for advantageous connections . Thomas Seymor had ambitious plans to make her Queen. Around the same time, he married Katherine Parr. Her patronage helped Jane blossom into an intelligent and cultured young woman. However, she died during childbirth and Jane had to return to Saymoure’s house. Seymor's plans to get Jane to married to  King Edward VI to maintain Protestant rule in England were disrupted by his execution following the Seymour brothers rivalry for power

In early 1553, Edward VI, ailing in health, drafted the 'Device for the Succession' fearing for the Crown's fate and to ensure his successor was male and protestant hence he also disinherited his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth in favour of male heirs of his cousin Lady Frances Grey, or of her children Jane, Catherine or Mary but by June 1553 it became clear that the King’s condition had become critical and since all of them had yet produced a male heir, he changed his ‘device’ in favour of  Jane. Edward’s ‘device’ was signed by the Privy Council and at least ten of the country’s senior lawyers and was highly advantageous to the King’s Protector, John Dudley. Potentially a strategic move he got his son, Lord Guildford Dudley, married to Jane earlier that year so that when the king died, the couple would replace him.

Crowning of Jane

Edward VI's relatively brief but eventful reign ended on July 6, 1553, at the young age of 15, it was believed he succumbed to Tuberculosis and only two days later Jane was called to Syon House and informed, as per Edward's instructions, that she was to be crowned Queen. This surprising news greatly distressed Lady Jane who did not calm down until her parents and husband arrived, leaving the Privy Councillors, who were kneeling before her to pledge allegiance, confused and embarrassed by her visible distress. Later describing the event she said “Declaring to them my insufficiency, I greatly bewailed myself for the death of so noble a Prince, and at the same time, turned myself to God, humbly praying and beseeching him, that if what was given to me was rightly and lawfully mine, his divine Majesty would grant me such grace and spirit that I might govern it to his glory and service and to the advantage of this realm.”

The next day at the tower of London everything had been proceeding smoothly until Jane was asked to wear the crown. She did not want to accept the crown and reluctantly stepped into the position of the Queen. The Council members underestimated the strength of support for the Catholic Princess who had much popular support as the lawful claimant to the throne and as it dawned on the Council that Mary might be a bigger threat than they thought, they allowed John Dudley to raise a small army to capture Mary but she raised a larger army of her own, compelling Dudley to retreat. Mary had the support of the Catholics and all those who believed in her lawful claim to the throne as Henry VIII’s daughter. The Council swung in her support and declared her Queen on 19 July, 1553. Amidst the rejoicing of Londoners, afraid of the danger, Jane’s father, mother and ladies-in-waiting abandoned the young couple trying to save themselves.

Imprisonment and Execution

Following her deposition in July, Lady Jane found herself confined to the Tower, once her home but now her prison. In November 1553, both Jane and her husband Guildford faced trial for high treason with the claim that Jane had “falsely and treacherously” accepted the crown of England and acknowledged herself as ‘Jane the Queen’, thereby depriving Mary of ‘her royal status, title, order

and power of her kingdom of England’ Despite this, Mary  showed mercy by permitting the couple to stay as high-status prisoners in the tower with certain privileges as she said her conscience would not permit her to have her cousin put to death but growing rebellions against the Queen some involving Jane’s father led her to believe Jane's existence was a threat to her although conspirators didn’t intend to bring Jane back to the throne. And so Mary offered to spare their lives if they converted to the Catholic faith, but Jane clung fiercely to her Protestant faith and she and Guildford adamantly refused. 

Declining Guildford’s request to meet one last time because she felt it would cause less ‘misery and pain’ if they waited to ‘meet shortly elsewhere’  and on the bleak morning of  12 February 1554, at around ten, Guildford was taken to Tower Hill, where a crowd was waiting to watch him lose his head. From her window, Lady Jane saw his headless body being carried back to the chapel, and is said to have exclaimed: ‘Oh, Guildford, Guildford!” 

Jane, as a woman of high status, was granted a private execution within the Tower grounds an hour later. Before her execution, she read Psalm 51 and gave her gloves, handkerchief, gown, headdress and collar to her ladies and the prayer book to the Lieutenant of the Tower. Jane asked the executioner to ‘despatch her quickly’ and tied a blindfold around her eyes. But as she groped blindly for the block, panic overcame her and she cried ‘What shall I do? Where is it?’Someone helped Jane lay her head on the block. As she spoke her last words: ‘Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit’, the axe fell. She was only 17.

Lady Jane Grey, once a Protestant martyr post-Mary I's rule, transformed into a 19th-century symbol of innocence and victimhood, portrayed vividly by Paul Delaroche in his 1833 paintings departing from historical accuracy reimagined Jane’s execution in a gloomy Tower cell rather than out on the scaffold. The painting has five figures, the central figure being Lady Jane dressed in a white satin dress. The painting depicts a harrowing image of her being blindfolded and led to her death. The other figures in the painting include the person leading her to death,one looker and two mourners. Her white dress and the light's focus on her help reinforce her vulnerable position, which contrasts sharply with how the other figures are dressed in the painting, highlighting her innocence, also brought into light by her blindfolded figure reaching out into the darkness perfectly depicting her panicked cries. The on-looker with the luxury of sight is without expression as he witnesses her execution. Delaroche's portrayal encapsulates Jane's victimhood of being forced into a political role at 17 against her wishes, as a result of complex political manoeuvring for Protestant rule in England. Her story can be seen as a symbol of the unpredictability and the complexity of power and politics.