Favorite Paintings.

[ColdSilverMoon]

Let's see if I can remember it from memory.....

Jane Grey was the daughter of one of the English nobility and 3rd or 4th (?) in line for the crown, being a cousin of Edward, the son of Henry VIII, and like him, was Reformed. She was highly educated and mentored by some of the early English reformers and was forced into a political marriage with (can't remember his first name) Dudley, and when the frail Edward died, she was elevated to the throne rather than Edward's half sister, Mary, of "Bloody Mary" infamy with the expectation that Dudley would be the real ruler. There was quite a bit of political infighting and after a period of only nine days, Mary seized power, arresting both Jane and her husband for high treason. They were both sent to the Tower of London - Jane was housed in a suite of rooms there and permitted two women companions. She was imprisoned for a little more than a year during which time she was constantly harrassed by agents of Mary and the Catholic church to recant her Reformed beliefs and return to Rome with the guarantee that her life would be spared if she did. At one time she was interrogated by a panel of Catholic clergy and admirably stood up to their questioning.

In the end, she was beheaded. The picture shows how, while blindfolded, she groped for the chopping block and had to be shown where it was.

Lady Jane Grey was executed in February (?) of 1555. She was several months past her 17th birthday.

That's pretty much exactly right. Of note, she did not want to be Queen - she was more or less tricked into it by her ambitious father. He brought her to London and when she exited the carriage everyone bowed to her, which was shocking since she didn't know she was the Queen! Also, technically Bloody Mary did have the legitimate claim to the throne. But her taking the throne and executing a more or less uninvolved Jane was both a political and religious statement.

Just FYI, she was the granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister - I think that makes him her great-uncle. And her husband by forced marriage was Guildford Dudley. Though to his credit, he did seem to truly love her. You can still see where he scratched her name on the wall of his prison cell in the Tower of London. You can see her grave in the Chapel St. Peter Ad Vincula, along with Anne Boleyn's. Jane is one of my favorite figures in English history, though her story is a tragic one....