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 1553 - 15-year-old Lady Jane Grey deposed as England's Queen after 9 days

 

 

Lady Jane Grey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lady Jane Grey
The Streatham Portrait, discovered at the beginning of the 21st century and believed to be a copy of a contemporary portrait of Lady Jane Grey.[1]
Queen of England and Ireland (disputed) (more...)
Reign	10 July 1553 – 19 July 1553[2]
Predecessor	Edward VI
Successor	Mary I
Spouse	Lord Guildford Dudley
Father	Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Mother	Lady Frances Brandon
Born	1536/1537
Died	12 February 1554 (aged 16–17) Tower of London, London
Burial	St Peter ad Vincula, London
Signature

Lady Jane Grey (married name Lady Jane Dudley; 1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as The Nine Days' Queen,^[3] was an English noblewoman and de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553. She was subsequently executed. The great-granddaughter of Henry VII through his younger daughter Mary, Jane was a first cousin once removed of Edward VI.

In May 1553 Jane was married to Lord Guildford Dudley, a younger son of Edward's chief minister, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. When the 15-year-old King lay dying in June 1553, he nominated Jane as successor to the Crown in his will, thus subverting the claims of his half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth under the Third Succession Act. During her short reign, Jane resided in the Tower of London. She became a prisoner there when the Privy Council decided to change sides and proclaim Mary as Queen on 19 July 1553. She was convicted of high treason in November 1553, though her life was initially spared. Wyatt's rebellion in January and February 1554 against Queen Mary's plans of a Spanish match led to her execution at the age of 16 or 17, and that of her husband.

Lady Jane Grey had an excellent humanist education and a reputation as one of the most learned young women of her day.^[4] A committed Protestant, she was posthumously regarded as not only a political victim but also a martyr.