In the spring of 1545, a new life entered the world.
She was the youngest daughter of Henry Grey, the 1st Duke of Suffolk,
and Lady Frances Brandon.
Her mother was the daughter of Charles Brandon, the 1st Duke of Suffolk,
and Mary Tudor, a princess of England.
She was born into a family of high status and prestige.
Being the third and youngest daughter of the family, with two older sisters,
Lady Jane Grey and Lady Katherine Grey were both
notable figures in Tudor history, with Lady Jane
famously becoming Queen of England briefly before her tragic execution.
Despite being the youngest, she was no less important.
The tumultuous events of the Tudor era would also touch her life.
Her story is about family, loyalty,
and the struggle for power in a time of great uncertainty.
So join me now as we look back on the dangerous life of Lady Mary Grey.
Deep in the heart of Tudor England, Mary
Grey was born on a momentous day 20 April 1545.
As the youngest daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and Lady Frances
Brandon, daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and Mary Tudor,
she was a precious jewel in a family with a regal lineage.
Mary had two sisters, Lady Jane Grey and Lady Katherine Grey, and together,
they would navigate a world of danger and uncertainty.
Mary and her sisters had royal blood
coursing through their veins, making them potential heirs to the English throne.
When King Edward VI breathed his last on 6 July 1553,
he left behind a will naming Mary’s eldest sister, Jane, as his successor,
who had recently married the son of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland.
A few weeks earlier,
on 25 May 1553, Mary Grey, then just a young child,
was engaged to her distant cousin, Arthur Grey, 14th Baron
Grey de Wilton, whose father was an ally of Northumberland.
The plan to secure a Protestant succession failed,
and even though Jane was briefly crowned, the Privy Council of England
changed sides and declared Mary, Edward’s half-sister, as the rightful queen.
Northumberland paid the ultimate price for his treachery
and was executed on 22 August 1553.
Queen Mary was merciful enough to spare Jane’s
life and the lives of her husband and father.
Still, after the Wyatt rebellion was suppressed in early
1554, all three were executed.
Jane and her husband were beheaded,
and a few days later, Jane’s father suffered the same fate.
As for our Mary, well her engagement to Arthur Grey was called off.
Frances Brandon’s decision to remarry after the death of her
first husband brought about a great divide in her family.
When she passed away, Mary was left with a modest inheritance
while most of her mother’s property was given to her stepfather, Adrian Stokes.
Fortunately, Queen Elizabeth took pity on her plight and appointed her
as one of her Maids of Honour, granting her a pension to make ends meet.
However, the Queen’s strict rules meant that Mary and her sister Katherine
were not allowed to marry without her permission.
Katherine ignored this warning and secretly married Edward Seymour,
which led to her and her husband’s imprisonment.
Elizabeth declared their marriage invalid, leaving Katherine and her eldest son
with no rights to the throne.
Mary Grey was no stranger to the dangers of secret marriages.
Knowing what had happened to her sister Katherine.
But despite the risks, Mary could not resist the lure of love.
On a summer day in 1565, while Queen Elizabeth was away attending a wedding,
Mary took the plunge and secretly married Thomas
Keyes, the Queen’s sergeant porter.
The couple exchanged vows with three of Mary’s cousins as witnesses,
taking every precaution to avoid detection.
But their marriage was an ill-advised one.
Keyes was twice Mary’s age, a widower with several children,
and hailed from a minor gentry family in Kent.
And Mary, who some say had a physical disability
and plain appearance, was no match for the towering, 6-foot-8 Keyes.
The news of their
union quickly spread, and Mary’s fate hung in the balance.
The offence of marrying without the Queen’s permission was grave,
and Mary’s lowly status only compounded the situation.
She was described as “little, crook-backed, and very ugly”
by the Spanish ambassador.
Mary’s story maybe one of love and risk-taking,
a daring move in a world where women’s choices were often limited.
But as with all risky ventures, the consequences of her actions
were severe and far-reaching.
Mary Grey’s life had been filled with hardship
and turmoil, marked by political intrigue and personal tragedy.
But perhaps the greatest challenge of all came after she secretly married
Thomas Keyes, the Queen’s sergeant porter.
Their union was discovered, Mary was placed under house arrest
while Keyes was imprisoned in the Fleet.
For two long years, they were kept apart, their only contact
limited to letters and fleeting glimpses from afar.
In August 1567, Mary was sent to live with her
step-grandmother, Katherine, Duchess of Suffolk.
But her time there was not without its difficulties.
The Duchess was shocked by the meagre possessions
with which Mary arrived and struggled to provide for her.
Mary, meanwhile, found solace in the company of the Duchess’s
children, Peregrine and Susan Bertie.
Tragically, Mary’s sister Katherine died in 1568, leaving
Mary as the next heir to the English throne under Henry VIII’s will.
In response, the Queen ordered that Mary be sent to live
with Sir Thomas Gresham at his residence in Bishopsgate.
But the Gresham household was far from welcoming.
Sir Thomas was in constant pain, and his wife, Anne, resented Mary’s presence.
Despite the challenges, Mary remained resilient, determined
to make the best of her situation and secure her historical place.
For Mary Grey, life had been a constant struggle,
marked by imprisonment, house arrest, and personal tragedy.
But even after her release from captivity, she faced another challenge:
losing her husband, Thomas Keyes.
After years spent in the Fleet, Thomas was finally released in 1569.
Still, his health was broken, and he died shortly after that,
leaving behind several orphaned children from his first marriage.
Mary begged Queen Elizabeth for permission to care for them.
But her request was denied, leaving her with no choice
but to continue living in limbo.
Mary remained under strict house arrest for seven long years,
her movements and actions monitored by the authorities.
She had no friends to take her
in, and her income was insufficient to live independently.
Despite being an unwelcome guest in the Gresham household,
Mary Grey continued to reside there until Sir Thomas proposed a solution.
He suggested that Mary moves to Beaumanor in Leicestershire,
the home of her late mother’s second husband, Adrian Stokes,
where he felt, she would be more comfortable.
However, Mary’s time in Beaumanor was short-lived.
In February 1573, she found a new home in, London.
And now began the slow process of rebuilding her life.
She immersed herself in studies, surrounded by her books and manuscripts.
And by the end of 1577, her fortunes improved.
In the spring of 1578, London
was in a deadly plague, and Mary Grey, both frail and delicate, fell ill.
Sensing that her time was short, she drew up her will,
leaving her treasured possessions to her loved ones, including her mother’s
jewels, to her step-grandmother, the Duchess of Suffolk.
Just three days later, on April 20, 1578,
Mary Grey passed away at the young age of 33.
The passing of Mary Grey was deeply felt by those who knew her,
and to honour her memory,
the Queen authorized an impressive funeral at Westminster Abbey.
This grand ceremony was a clear testament to the immense respect
and admiration that Mary had earned during her lifetime.
At the funeral, the chief mourner was Susan Bertie, Countess of Kent,
the daughter of Mary’s beloved step-grandmother.
Mary was laid to rest in her mother’s tomb in the Abbey, her grave
still unmarked.
Despite being a potential heir to the English throne, it does not appear
that Mary Grey ever made a serious claim to the crown.
Following Mary Grey’s passing, Margaret Stanley, Countess of Derby, became
the primary claimant to the English throne, as specified in Henry VIII’s will.
Margaret was the sole surviving child of Eleanor Brandon,
the second daughter of Mary Tudor, Henry VIII’s younger sister.
Mary Grey’s story is about perseverance, courage, and resilience in adversity.
She faced numerous challenges throughout her life
but refused to let them break her spirit.
Instead, she continued to fight for what she believed
in, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
And though she may be gone, her legacy lives on as a testament to the
strength of the human spirit.