Birth: October 1537Lady Jane Grey, often known as “The Nine Days’ Queen,” was born in 1537 to Henry Grey, the 1 st Duke of Suffolk, and Lady Frances Brandon, the niece of Henry VIII. Lady Frances Brandon had a claim to the throne as the daughter of Henry VIII’s younger sister, Mary.
Jane was well educated as a child, learning to read and speak Latin, French, Greek, Italian and English. When Jane was 9 years old, her parents sent her to court under the care of Queen Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII. Eventually, with the death of Henry VIII, Katherine Parr married Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour. While Katherine provided a kindness that her strict parents never did, Thomas Seymour tried to arrange for Jane to marry King Edward VI in exchange for money from Jane’s parents.
In 1548, Katherine Parr died due to complications from giving birth, and Seymour, now known as Baron Thomas Seymour of Sudeley, became Jane’s guardian. However, he was only Jane’s guardian for a year before he was executed for treason in 1549.
Meanwhile, John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, overthrew Edward Seymour, the former Lord Protector to Edward VI’s throne. Northumberland took advantage of Edward’s failing health to gain power for his own ambitions. Since Mary, who was next in line for the crown, was Catholic, Northumberland plotted for a scheme of his own. He arranged with Jane’s parents to force Jane to marry his son, Guildford Dudley in May 1553. Jane protested, saying, “The crown is not my right, and pleaseth me not. The Lady Mary is the rightful heir.”
Northumberland then manipulated Edward VI into naming Jane as his successor; Northumberland was clever and appealed to Edward’s Protestant beliefs. In this new line of succession, not only were both Mary and Elizabeth bypassed for the throne, but so was Lady Frances Bacon, who was the daughter of Henry VIII’s sister and the mother of Jane Grey.
Upon Edward’s death on July 6, 1553, Northumberland had Lady Jane Grey declared Queen. However, the public’s support slowly diminished as Mary collected troops to claim the throne. Finally, Mary gained her throne on July 19th , throwing Jane, her father, and the Dudleys in the Tower of London. Northumberland was executed but Jane was pardoned, since Mary realized she was only a puppet for the Northumberland. However, further rebellions in Lady Jane Grey’s name popped up and Mary wanted to eliminate any possible threats to her throne. Lady Jane Grey and her husband Guildford Dudley were executed on February 12, 1554.
Her historical title as “The Nine Days’ Queen” has been uncertain; some historians call her “The Thirteen Days’ Queen” due to the fact that she was not proclaimed Queen until July 10, 1533, four days after Edward VI died. Historians either use the day of her predecessor’s death or the day she was proclaimed Queen. Either way, her reign was a short one.