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Victim of Intentions Being a concise history of Lady Jane Grey, the Nine-Days Queen of England Jane Dudley, nee Grey, has long been a source of fascination for historians of the Tudor reigns. Depending on one's point of view, she is either the most successful of the various would-be usurpers of the Tudor throne, or she is the only deposed monarch of the Tudor line. Sixteenth-century politics were bloody, to say the least, and Jane Dudley was possibly the most unwilling player ever to lose in the political game. Born in 1537, Jane was raised by her mother, Frances Brandon, the daughter of Henry VII's sister Mary, to achieve great things. The harshness of Jane's upbringing was notorious, even in a time not known for the high value it placed on children. As Jane stated to a noted scholar of the day: When I am in the presence of either father or mother, whether I sit, stand, or go, eat, drink, be merry or sad, be sewing, playing, dancing, or doing anything else, I must doe it ...even as perfectly as god made the earth, or else I an so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea, presented sometimes with pinches, nips, and blows and other things (which I will not name for the honor I bear them, so without measure, so misordered, that I think myself in Hell (Luke, 1961). Jane's pleasure and freedom was study. In 1547, Jane received another welcome freedom; she was sent to foster in the home of Queen-Dowager Katherine Parr. At Chelsea Place, she was able to relax, enjoy the affection of her step-aunt and the company of her cousin, Princess Elizabeth, and continue her studies of both academic and religious subjects in a household that thought such pursuits valuable. Unbeknownst to Jane ant the other members of the household, Katherine Parr's fourth husband, Thomas Seymour, was busily crafting skullduggery. Edward VI, still a minor, was under the Protection of his uncle, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset. Thomas, ever jealous of his brother Somerset, was bent on bringing the Lord Protector down and assuming the protectorate. One means of doing this, Thomas thought, would be to marry Jane to Edward--which would have the double advantage of upsetting Somorset's plans for their marriages (Jane to Edward, Earl of Hertford and King Edward to either Mary, future Queen of Scots or Princess Elizabeth of France)--thereby consolidating power over the king through the queen. Even had Thomas Seymour managed this, however, it is unlikely that he would ever have had much influence over Edward VI, for, child though he was, King Edward recognized Thomas Seymour as power-hungry, manipulative, and rash. Seymour's plans crashed about him upon the death of his wife. King Edward and the Princesses Elizabeth and Mary were prevented from attending Katherine Parr's funeral, leaving Jane to perform the duties of a chief mourner at the funeral alone. Jane reluctantly returned to her family. Seymour, never smart enough to know when to leave well enough alone, continued plotting to gain power and influence, and was eventually executed for his attempts at overthrowing the protectorate. However, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, succeeded where Thomas Seymour failed, both in bringing down Edward Duke of Somerset and in placing Jane Grey on the throne of England, albeit for nine days--although it can be assumed that her reign was actually a few days longer. Edward's health was visibly failing by 1553. Upon realizing that King Edward was dying, Northumberland--now Lord Protector in Somerset's place--cast about for some method of remaining in power. Control of the heir was what he needed; Mary, a Catholic, would undo the Reformation. Elizabeth was of too strong a will to be contained by Northumberland; the same could be said of Frances Brandon--who was already married, to boot. Jane Grey, however, was young, fervently Protestant, still single, and directly related to the throne. Thus Northumberland hit upon his scheme: Bypass the heirs Henry VIII had dictated in favor of Jane Grey. Frances Brandon and her husband, Henry Duke of Suffolk, were not opposed to this plan; if it succeeded, their daughter would be queen, and, if it failed, they'd not take the brunt of the blame. To make Jane more acceptable as heir-apparent, she was married to Guilford Dudley, Northumberland's son. Jane objected strongly to the match, going so far as to invoke the previous contract of marriage to Edward Earl of Hertford (which, at this time, could be considered as binding as an actual marriage) as protection. No matter; her parents simply beat her into submission, and Jane married Guilford on 21 May, 1553. She considered him vulgar, vain, and rude; he thought her entirely too religious After the marriage, Jane and Guilford moved to Chelsea Place. Jane had not wanted to move into the Northumberland home after her marriage, preferring the devil she knew to the one she didn't, and neither Jane Duchess of Northumberland nor Frances Duchess Suffolk wanted the future royal couple in the hands of the other woman. Therefore, Jane and Guilford were set up in their own household, left alone in their mutual hate. By playing upon Edward's strong Protestant convictions, Northumberland was, after a number of months, able to convince Edward to change the Will of Succession. Laboriously written by the dying King's own hand, the will at first appointed the Lady Jane Grey's heirs male as successors, but, as Edward's illness progressed and it became apparent that he would not live to see a male heir born, the will was changed to read Lady Jane Grey and her heirs male. On 6 July, 1553, Edward succumbed to his illness. Northumberland kept Edward's death a secret and dispatched messengers summoning Elizabeth and Mary to Edward's side, thinking to imprison them upon their arrivals. Elizabeth, suspicious, sent back word that she was too ill to travel. Mary set out at once. On 9 July, Jane and Guilford were summoned to the Northumberland palace, Syon. There they learned of Edward's death. Jane was grieved; she'd cared for her cousin. Nothing, however, could prepare her for the shock that followed: Edward had named her his successor. "The crown is not my right, and it pleaseth me not. The Lady Mary is the rightful heir," (Luke, 1970) Jane replied. The Suffolks, unable to use their previous methods of persuasion now that Jane was queen, convinced Jane to take the crown however reluctantly by using the same argument Northumberland had used to persuade Edward to change the will. It was, they told her, the only way to safeguard the Protestant religion. By this time, an anonymous well-wisher had warned Mary of her danger and she retreated to Kenninghall. Thence she sent a letter to the Council, proclaiming herself Queen. The Council replied by proclaiming Jane Queen at three o'clock p.m., 10 July, 1553. When the crown and royal jewels were brought to Jane on 11 July, she refused to try them on. Again, she had to be persuaded. Once she did allow the crown to be placed on her head, it was casually observed that a crown should be made for Guilford as well. However, no amount of persuasion would convince Jane to accept Guilford as King-consort. When it became apparent that she would not change her mind, Guilford, who had expected not only to be King but that Jane's power would be minimal, hied back to Syon. He did not make it; Jane sent orders for him to return to her side and behave in a friendly fashion--which he did. By 12 July, Mary had been proclaimed Queen in County Norwich and the Council received a letter from Mary demanding she be recognized. In response, the Council prepared to send Henry Duke of Suffolk and his forces to capture Mary. Jane, realizing that she would be alone with the Northumberlands, demanded that Northumberland lead the force. He needed much persuasion to go, for he feared the Council would desert him as soon as he left. On 18 July, Northumberland's fears were realized. The Council, aware that popular support was with Mary, offered a reward for Northumberland's capture, and, on 19 July, proclaimed Mary Queen. In London, Suffolk realized the hopelessness of his position, ordered his men to lay down their arms, and also proclaimed Mary Queen. Returning to his daughter, he tore the royal canopy from above Jane's head, remarking that such things were not for her. Jane merely asked permission to go home. Before his execution on 22 August, Northumberland proclaimed himself a Catholic, knowing that thereby he might receive a pardon. In the event that he was not able to save himself, however, he understood that such a confession would probably save his family. He did not receive clemency and was summarily dispatched. In later days, however, his confession did bring mercy for some of his sons. Henry Duke of Suffolk did receive a pardon on 31 July; his wife had thrown herself at Queen Mary's feet, begging that he be released. Neither parent, however, spoke a word for Jane, imprisoned all this time. In truth, Mary was aware that Jane had been a pawn of Northumberland, and intended to pardon her after all possible precautions were taken to prevent such an occurrence in the future.. Both Jane and Guilford had been declared guilty of treason on 13 November; now, they needed only wait. Wyatt's Rebellion put an end to Jane's hopes. In January of 1554, Sir Thomas Wyatt, assisted by Suffolk, led an uprising inspired by the upcoming marriage of Mary to Philip of Spain. The rebellion was quickly suppressed. It did, however, force Mary to reluctantly sign Jane and Guilford's death warrants. Jane was offered a last-ditch reprieve. Father Feckenham attempted to convince Jane to repent of the Protestant religion, which would, incidentally, save her life as well as her immortal soul, but Jane could not be dissuaded from her beliefs. The executions were set for 12 February 1554. Guilford had begged to see his wife one last time, and Mary had granted this request, but Jane refused to see him, saying it would be better for them to meet in the next world. Jane was standing at her window when Guilford was led to Tower Hill. Jane, as a member of the royal family, would be executed within the Tower walls (thereby preventing the execution from becoming a spectacle for all of London), but Guilford, not of that blood, was to be taken outside the Tower. Guilford looked up, saw Jane standing there, and waved goodbye. She waved back. Approximately one half hour later, Jane watched as Guilford's headless body was brought back She lowered her face into her hands and cried She came to her own scaffold with a prayer book in her hands. Mounting the scaffold, she turned to Father Feckenham and asked, "Shall I say this psalm?" Dropping to her knees, she recited Psalm fifty-seven in English. Once she finished, her gentlewomen, crying, helped her to her feet and took her gown. She pardoned the executioner, then stepped to the block, saying, "I pray you, dispatch me quickly," and then fearfully, asked "Will you take it off before I lay me down?" "No, Madame," he promised. She donned a blindfold. In the dark, she lost her bearings and was unable to find the block. "Where is it? What shall I do?" she cried, and a quick thinking person stepped forward to guide her hands. She laid her neck upon the block, said "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit," and stretched out her arms. The ax severed her neck in one blow. Thus ended the life of Jane Grey, sixteen years old, victim of an honest boy's good intentions, of a power-hungry man's dishonest intentions. REFERENCES Ericson, Carolly. Bloody Mary: The Remarkable Life of Mary Tudor. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc, 1978. Jenkins, Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Leicester. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc, 1961. Loades, O. M. Two Tudor Conspiracies. Cambridge at the University Press, 1965 Luke, Mary M. A Crown for Elizabeth. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc, 1970 Machyn, Henry, The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citazen and Merchant-Taylor of London, from A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1563. ed. John Gough Nichols. London: The Camden Society, 1848. Excerpts of this work: sample pages, and transcripted excerpt. Mathew, David. Lady Jane Grey: The Setting of the Reign. London: Eyre Methuen, 1972. Nichols, John Gough, ed. The Chronicle of Queen Jane, and of Two Years of Queen Mary, and Especially of the Rebellion of Sir Thoman Wyat. London: The Camden Society, 1850. (excerpts from this are now online here.) Prescott, H. F. M. Mary Tudor. New York: The MacMillian Company, 1968. Starkey, David, ed. Rivals in Power: Lives and Letters of the Great Tudor Dynasties. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1990.
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This paper written when I was 17 years
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