After moving there, Jane was able to receive educational opportunities available in court circles. Īround February 1547, Jane was sent to live in the household of Edward VI's uncle, Thomas Seymour, who soon married Henry VIII's widow, Catherine Parr. To the visiting scholar Roger Ascham, who found her reading Plato, she is said to have complained:įor when I am in the presence either of father or mother, whether I speak, keep silence, sit, stand or go, eat, drink, be merry or sad, be sewing, playing, dancing, or doing anything else, I must do it as it were in such weight, measure and number, even so perfectly as God made the world or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea presently sometimes with pinches, nips and bobs and other ways (which I will not name for the honour I bear them). She preferred academic studies rather than activities such as hunting parties and allegedly regarded her strict upbringing, which was typical of the time, as harsh. Through the influence of her father and her tutors, she became a committed Protestant and also corresponded with the Zürich reformer Heinrich Bullinger. She was particularly fond, throughout her life, of writing letters in Latin and Greek. Jane received a humanist education from John Aylmer, speaking Latin and Greek from an early age, also studying Hebrew with Aylmer, and Italian with Michelangelo Florio. Through their mother, the three sisters were great-granddaughters of Henry VII great-nieces of Henry VIII and first cousins once removed of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. Jane had two younger sisters: Lady Katherine and Lady Mary.

Frances was the eldest daughter of Henry VIII's younger sister, Mary. This would coincide with the fact that she was noted as being in her seventeenth year at the time of her execution. The traditional view is that she was born at Bradgate Park in Leicestershire in October 1537, while more recent research indicates that she was born somewhat earlier, possibly in London, sometime before May 1537 or between May 1536 and February 1537. Lady Jane Grey was the eldest daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and his wife, Frances.

At the time of her death, Jane was either 16 or 17 years old. Jane and her husband were executed on 12 February 1554. Mary initially spared her life however, Jane soon became viewed as a threat to the Crown when her father, Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, became involved with Wyatt's rebellion against Queen Mary's intention to marry Philip of Spain. Jane was held prisoner in the Tower, and was convicted of high treason in November 1553, which carried a sentence of death. Her primary supporter, her father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberland, was accused of treason, and executed less than a month later. The Privy Council of England suddenly changed sides, and proclaimed Mary as queen on 19 July 1553, deposing Jane. Support for Mary grew quickly, and most of Jane's supporters abandoned her. The will removed his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, from the line of succession on account of their illegitimacy, subverting their claims under the Third Succession Act.Īfter Edward's death, Jane was proclaimed queen on 10 July 1553, and awaited coronation in the Tower of London. In June 1553, the dying Edward VI wrote his will, nominating Jane and her male heirs as successors to the Crown, in part because his half-sister Mary was Catholic, while Jane was a committed Protestant and would support the reformed Church of England, whose foundation Edward laid. In May 1553, she married Lord Guildford Dudley, a younger son of Edward's chief minister John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. She had an excellent humanist education, and a reputation as one of the most learned young women of her day. Jane was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII through his daughter, Mary Tudor, and was therefore a grandniece of Henry VIII and a first cousin once removed of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. 1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage and as the ' Nine Days' Queen', was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 to 19 July 1553.

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