Lady Jane Grey's execution was, indeed, a tragic death.
History has traditionally seen Lady Jane Grey as an unfortunate teenager whose relation
to the royal family saw her thrust as a pawn into the maelstrom of Tudor politics.
In truth, the mess that England was in back in 1553 was due in large part to Henry VIII.
Although his religious reforms actually proved popular, despite their selfish motivation,
his six marriages left three half-siblings with wildly-differing views on one another’s
legitimacy.
Lady Jane Grey lived her short life at a time when the country was divided between Catholic
and Protestant, and was exploited to try to secure the well being and continuing prosperity
of her family, for which she paid the ultimate price.
She was proclaimed Queen after the death of her cousin, the protestant King Edward VI,
son of Henry VIII who died on 10 July, 1553. Lady Jane was actually fifth in line to the
throne, but Edward willed his crown to her specifically to keep the country Protestant.
Edward’s half-sister Mary Tudor, who was Henry VIII’s daughter with Catherine of
Aragon, was actually next in line for the throne but since she was a devout Catholic,
Edward chose Lady Jane Grey instead even though she would have been constantly even though
she would have been constantly challenged as to her legitimacy to rule.
Also, Edward could not name his Protestant half-sister Elizabeth as his successor, as
doing so would recognise the legitimacy of Anne Boleyn’s marriage to Henry, which would
raise questions about the legitimacy of his own birth, which came from Henry’s next
marriage to Jane Seymour.
The way Henry VIII went about the Protestant Reformation also brewed dangerous enmity amongst
the Catholic subjects of the country.
Hence, Lady Jane became a target of the Catholics populous not to mention a direct threat to
Mary Tudor, who saw her own claim to the throne as more legitimate than the poor young Jane.
Mary rallied the Privy council to her favor while the men in Jane's family, comprised
of her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley, whom had pretty much talked her into to taking
the crown so that he could become king, and his father along Lady Jane's father all took
up arms in a plot against Mary.
On the 20th of July, the Council in London unequivocally declared Mary the rightful queen.
The men in Jane's family leading the plot were charged with treason and the unnwitting
Lady Jane, was included in this declaration resulting in a sentence of death.
Jane was held prisoner in the tower of London for several months, along with her husband.
Her subsequent execution was a political necessity for Mary who later became know as Bloody Mary
thanks to her persecution of Protestant heretics, whom she burned at the stake in the hundreds.
Lady Jane Grey was only 16 years old when she was beheaded on Friday 12 February, 1554
at the order of Queen Mary I.
At her execution, Lady Jane Grey is said to have died bravely. On the scaffold she asked
the executioner to ‘Please dispatch me quickly’.
Lady Jane’s tragic life has inspired countless artists and writers over the years. She became
especially popular in the Victorian period, from which Delaroche’s highly stylised portrayal
of her execution is taken.
In 1563, her story was included in The Book of Martyrs by the famous English martyrologist,
John Foxe, which was a text detailing the terrible suffering Protestants had to endure
from Catholics.
The story of Jane’s life and early death caused by the lust for power of, not Jane,
but the men in her life, deserves to be remembered.