Jane Grey: The 9 Day Queen

I found the story of Lady Jane Grey to be pretty interesting, so did some further research into her story. To review what we discussed in class, after Edward VI died, she became queen for just nine days before Mary Tudor took the throne and executed her. When Edward VI became sick just a few years into his reign, it became clear that there was a sort of succession crisis at hand that could cause many problems. There were several people with claims to the throne, including Henry VIII's daughters Mary and Elizabeth; Mary Stuart, the descendant of Henry VIII's sister Margaret who was a Catholic living in France; and Jane Grey, who descended from Henry's sister Mary. Edward chose Jane as she was a well-educated and devout Protestant. As he was dying, he willed the throne to Jane and delegitimized the claims of Mary and Elizabeth, which had been established in the Third Succession Act.

Of course, we all know how this turned out, with Mary claiming the throne anyway and executing Jane. The results of these actions were interesting though, as the devout, educated Jane Grey became a symbol and martyr for Protestants under Mary's rule. She was included in Foxe's Book of Martyrs, which Mrs. Quinet mentioned in class.

One interesting side-effect of the posthumous martyrdom and fame is that there are no confirmed contemporary portraits of Lady Jane Grey. There were many later depictions of her, but by the time these paintings were made she had achieved her status of martyrdom. She is the only English monarch without an existing known contemporary portrait.

The little known story of Jane Grey is interesting and shows many important aspects of English history at the time, such as the political and religious turmoil that led to succession crises. She's also an interesting example of someone who somewhat unintentionally became a martyr for the Protestant cause. Lastly, she was likely, and tragically, a victim of the political forces of her time that led to her death (supposedly she was not trying to take the throne for power, though some of her royal advisors likely manipulated the situation for that reason).

Below is a famous portrait that depicts Jane, but is from decades after her death and is probably a low quality copy of another portrait: