1. Jane was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII, a grand-niece of Henry VIII, and cousin to Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I Under the will of Henry VIII, Jane was in line to the throne after her cousins.
28 Facts About Lady Jane Grey
1. 2.
Lady Jane Grey had a humanist education and a reputation as one of the most learned young women of her day.
3.
Support for Mary grew rapidly and most of Lady Jane Grey's supporters abandoned her.
4.
Mary initially spared her life, but 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 Mary's intention to marry Philip of Spain.
5.
At the time of her execution, Lady Jane Grey was either 16 or 17 years old.
6.
Lady Jane Grey was the eldest daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and his wife, Frances Brandon.
7.
Lady Jane Grey received a humanist education from John Aylmer, speaking Latin and Greek from an early age, studying Hebrew with Aylmer and Italian with Michelangelo Florio.
8.
Lady Jane Grey was particularly fond, throughout her life, of writing letters in Latin and Greek.
9.
Lady Jane Grey preferred academic studies to activities such as hunting parties and allegedly regarded her strict upbringing, which was typical of the time, as harsh.
10.
About eleven years old at the time, Lady Jane Grey was chief mourner at Catherine's funeral.
11.
Lady Jane acted as chief mourner at Catherine Parr's funeral.
12.
The essence of Edward's will was to give priority to the throne to the unborn sons of Lady Frances Brandon, followed by the unborn sons of her daughter Jane Grey.
13.
Lady Jane Grey was young, healthy, and brought up in the Protestant faith, and her other qualities were of no importance.
14.
Lady Jane Grey was initially reluctant to accept the crown, although she later relented after pressure from an assembly of nobles, including her parents and her parents in-laws, while Guildford chimed in with a lovelier approach, with "prayers and caresses".
15.
Lady Jane Grey had a long discussion about this with Guildford, who "assented that if he were to be made king, he would be so by me, by Act of Parliament".
16.
However, Lady Jane Grey would agree only to make him Duke of Clarence; Guildford replied that he did not want to be a duke, but the king.
17.
Lady Jane Grey commanded him to leave the Tower and go home, but Jane insisted that he remain at court at her side.
18.
Lady Jane Grey was first informed by a courier sent by Nicholas Throckmorton.
19.
Soon the most powerful noblemen in the area, both Catholics and Protestants, would begin to join the cause: Henry Radcliffe, Earl of Sussex, Lord-lieutenant of Norfolk and who initially supported Lady Jane Grey, defected and joined Mary.
20.
The council replied to Mary's letter that Lady Jane Grey was queen by Edward's authority and that Mary, by contrast, was illegitimate and supported only by "a few lewd, base people".
21.
Contemporaries recognized that Henry Lady Jane Grey was unsuitable for the role, and other available candidates were weak.
22.
Lady Jane Grey was now commonly thought to have poisoned Edward while Mary "would have been as glad of her brother's life, as the ragged bear is glad of his death".
23.
Lady Jane Grey had agreed to be the godmother and wished the child's name to be Guildford.
24.
Lady Jane Grey was accompanied by her half-sister Elizabeth and a procession of over 800 nobles and gentlemen.
25.
Northumberland's religious retraction outraged Lady Jane Grey, who was a fervent Protestant.
26.
Lady Jane Grey's sentence was to "be burned alive on Tower Hill or beheaded as the Queen pleases".
27.
Lady Jane Grey asked for a visit from Protestant divine, but Mary denied her request, and instead Mary sent her chaplain, Father John Feckenham to see Lady Jane Grey, who was initially not pleased about this.
28.
Lady Jane Grey then recited Psalm 51 in English, and handed her gloves and handkerchief to her maid.