Lady Jane Grey, 9 Days Queen of England

queens of the world Lady Jane gray the N9 days Queen of England thank you to mellan TV for sponsoring this video Henry VII's only son Edward v 6 died tragically Young on his deathbed he signed a new will surpassing his rightful Heir his Catholic Sister Mary and making his cousin 16-year-old Protestant Lady Jane gray the new Queen The Reluctant teenager sat on the throne for only 9 days before the people rally behind Princess Mary once she claimed her Birthright queen bloody mary had her cousin beheaded in the Tower of London Jane gray may have been born at bradgate Park in October 1537 or in London between May 1536 6 and February 1537 the births of sons were recorded in great detail while daughters were considered far less important but Jane was born into a royal family which had plenty of female children but was notoriously short on male heirs she was the eldest daughter of the eldest daughter of King Henry VII's younger sister Mary her grandmother a famous Beauty had been briefly wed to King Louis the 12 of France after his death she eloped with an Englishman Charles Brandon the King was Furious as he had wanted to marry her off to another old man but he loved his sister so decided not to have Charles beheaded instead he levied a hefty fine which impoverished the Newly Weds they were poor but happy and most importantly for our story English the brandons had four children two sons and two daughters their firstborn son died in infancy but their second Henry Brandon had a slim but real possibility of becoming King he was born when his Uncle Henry VII had only one living legitimate child Princess Mary and Queen Catherine of Aragon at 38 was unlikely to Bear any more children Henry could could not comprehend handing his throne to a daughter and as he had no Sons the next in the line of succession were the descendants of his only living siblings his two sisters his Elder Sister Margaret had married King James ivth of Scotland but Henry was at war with the Scots so he wrote Margaret's Offspring out of his will but as the Brandon children were English the king favored them during his lifetime Henry Brandon was the only person in the line of succession who was both male and English but alas he died at the age of 10 this left only his two sisters Francis and Eleanor they grew up close to their cousin Princess Mary and visited the Royal Court often though they were the poor relations Francis in particular reveled in education and became deeply ambitious to improve her station Henry VII divorced his first wife and declared his daughter Princess Mary illegitimate he then married Anne bin but when she produced only a daughter Elizabeth the king had Anne beheaded and Elizabeth declared illegitimate as well at this point there was a real chance that if the king didn't manage to have a son the crown could end up on francis's head at 6 she married equally ambitious Henry gray their first child was a son but he died shortly after birth she then had three healthy daughters Jane Catherine and Mary within a year of Jane's birth Henry the8's third wife Jane Seymour finally gave birth to the long awaited male Heir Edward the baby Prince was healthy and was expected to inherit the throne thus dashing any chances Francis had at becoming Queen nonetheless Francis had great Ambitions for her daughters ESP especially the eldest Jane most tutor parents were extremely strict but Francis was on another level she expected Perfection and was demanding and domineering Jane's meekness quiet nature and unassuming manner irritated her mother who sought to harden her with beatings and Punishment M Jane did receive an outstanding humanist education her parents hired the future Bishop of London to educate her in Latin Greek Hebrew and Italian this investment would typically have been spent on a son if the family had any an Jane was far more lettered than most noble girls of her time she took to academics with joy and much preferred spending the day in the library reading Plato than going outside to ride or hunt the gray family had taken to protestantism with fervor and young Jane corresponded with some of the great religious reformers of the time Francis became friends with the king's Sixth and final wife Katherine Parr also a devout Protestant and a highly educated woman she secured 13-year-old Jane a position at court as a maid of honor to the queen Jane admired Catherine and grew very close to her seeing her as a second Kinder mother when Henry the8 died in 1547 his will left the throne to his 9-year-old son Edward v 6 next in the succession he reinstated his two daughters Princess Mary and Princess Elizabeth though they were still legally illegitimate Henry officially struck the Scottish line of his sister Margaret out completely but provided that if his children didn't have Offspring then the crown would pass to the descendance of his younger sister Mary Katherine Parr married Thomas Seymour and Jane gray moved with her to Sudley Castle there she spent time with her cousin princess Elizabeth who was also under the care of The Dowager Queen Jane stayed by Catherine's side through her pregnancy childbirth and death from childbed fever Jane was the chief mourner at her surrogate mother's funeral afterward Thomas Seymour kept Jane at his home as he thought he might be able to use the teenager to his Advantage he was the brother of the late Queen Jane Seymour and was therefore the maternal Uncle of the young King Edward the 6 his older brother Edward Seymour had been named Regent and the two uncles were in a tug of war over the affections of the child Monarch Thomas plotted a marriage between Edward and Jane he wanted to make the girl over whom he had so much influence Queen Thomas attempted to kidnap King Edward but he was seized in the Royal Apartments arrested and beheaded Edward Seymour's position as Regent was not to last John Dudley the Duke of of Northumberland claimed the Regency in a coup and had Seymour beheaded Northumberland was one of the Dukes who had enriched himself by taking Land from the church and the people during Henry VII's disillusion of the monasteries when a group of peasants rose up in protest Northumberland defeated and brutally executed the ring leaders the people had not forgotten Kit's rebellion and Northumberland was was deeply hated by this time King Edward was beginning to assert his own authority he was staunchly Protestant and overhauled the way Common People worshiped he outlawed candles images rosaries and the Latin mass and he imprisoned anyone who continued Catholic practices the most defiant of all was his own Heir his elder sister Princess Mary Edward was furious with her and was determined that she should never have the throne and she never would have if Edward married and had a son of his own but in February 1553 the 15-year-old King fell suddenly ill with consumption what we now call tuberculosis the finest doctors in the land believed there was no way to save the King's life Princess Mary was closer to the throne than ever before for Edward a return to Catholicism spelled the spiritual ruin of the nation and for his counselors who had long ago seized Church land it spelled Financial ruin so Northumberland encouraged the alien king to sign a new device for the succession the Act passed over Princess Mary on the grounds that she had been declared illegitimate for the same reason princess Elizabeth though Protestant would also have to be passed over so that meant the throne must go to his cousin Francis and her three daughters Jane Catherine and Mary but Edward like his father couldn't possibly comprehend a woman inheriting the throne so instead he bequeathed the crown to francis's heirs male who didn't yet exist the gray daughters were hastily married off in the hopes that one of them would bear a son before the King's death 12-year-old Catherine was wed to the son of the Earl of pimbrook Mary only eight was betrothed to the middle-aged and disfigured Baron of Wilton The Greatest Prize 16-year-old Jane was married to northumberland's own son 18-year-old Guilford Dudley when first informed of her betrothal Jane refused but her father struck her several times making it clear that she had no choice in the matter in May Jane and Dudley were wed in a ceremony fit for a king and queen king Edward was too ill to attend but he issued a royal warrant providing fine clothes for the wedding party Jou masks and the attendance of foreign ambassadors the king's Health continued to fade fast and it became clear that there would not be time for Jane to become pregnant and deliver a bouncing baby boy Edward would have no choice but to settle for a woman inheriting his throne on his deathbed he changed the device of the succession at northumberland's request he passed over Francis and changed the wording of who would get the crown from the Lady Jane's heir's mail to the lady Lady Jane and her heir's mail and with that stroke of the pin he changed his cousin's fate Edward died on the 6th of July 1553 age 15 Northumberland managed to keep the new succession plan and the King's death a secret he invited Princess Mary to court where he intended to arrest her but someone tipped her off and instead she fled to norfol where she was confident of support Northumberland sent ships to the norfol coast to prevent her Escape or the arrival of reinforcements from her many allies on the continent he also called troops loyal to him to secure the Tower of London The Fortress which was at the center of power in England whoever held the tower held the throne the endless dates and dwars thrown at you in many history classes are not what made me fall in love with the past it was learning about how historic figures actually lived their lives and related to one another if you want to know more about what it was like to be a 16th century Royal then I highly recommend the private lives of the tutors this three-part documentary gives an intimate look at the lives loves and Scandals of England's most celebrated Royal Dynasty you can watch this and so many more educational and entertaining documentaries on mellan TV this platform is dedicated to delivering the finest curated documentaries from around the world they have an incredible collection highlighting whatever you're interested in including scientific discoveries nature art culture crime and Beyond and you know I can't get enough of their library of History documentaries two other series I have thoroughly enjoyed are She Wolves the early queens of England and secrets of the castle click the link in the description to get a free 30-day trial to watch the private lives of the tutors and all the rest of melen TV's extensive collection of over 3,000 documentaries and now back to history on July 9th Jane gray was brought to northland's mansion and informed that she was now Queen She burst into tears and refused the position protesting that Princess Mary was the rightful Heir but when her parents arrived to put the pressure on her she reluctantly accepted her new title North umberland threw a Grand Banquet to celebrate the new Queen on July 10th Jane was escorted by barge to the Tower of London where English mon monarchs customarily resided from the time of their Ascension until their coronation Edward's Death was announced to the public and Jane was declared Queen of England France and Ireland to murmurings of discontent she was only the second Queen regnant in English History the first having been Matilda whose Reign from 1141 to 1148 caused Civil War and remains disputed James Royal procession into the tower was full of Pomp and ceremony but two details highlighted how wrong this event appeared to those who witnessed it her mother Francis whose claim to the throne should have come first carried her daughter's train and her new husband Guilford placed himself at the head of the procession even before his wife it was clear that Northumberland intended to make his son the new king many Saw plainly his attempts to control the country through his daughter-in-law and some even speculated that he might have poisoned King Edward now that Jane had accepted that she had no choice but to be Queen she was not willing to be a puppet the Lord Treasurer brought her the crown to try on he informed her that a new Crown would be made for Guilford Jane responded no she would make her husband a Duke but not a king her refusal undermined northumberland's plans Dudley petulantly threatened to leave her and refused to sleep with her after all no sex meant no air the privy Council received a message from Princess Mary asserting her right to the throne and demanding that she be be proclaimed Queen she offered them amnesty if they bent the knee ruin and death if they did not the council replied that Jane was Queen by Edward's Authority and that Mary was illegitimate and supported only by a few lewd base people Jane had the most powerful and wealthy men in the country and the might of the Tower of London and its massive Arsenal behind her while Mary had the support of a handful of low-level Country Gentlemen any Gambler would have favored Jane heavily for an easy Victory both Jane and Mary were now confident in their own right to the title they each sent out dozens of letters to Rally support and both signed them the Queen the privy Council had Gravely miscalculated the people's support for Mary devout C Catholics rallied behind her but also many commoners and Nobles who felt Henry VII's daughter had been illegally robbed of her Birthright in contrast Northumberland had to offer twice the usual pay to raise a small army to fight for Jane he reluctantly left the tower and control of the council and marched out of London with 3,000 soldiers meanwhile Mary had gathered an Army of nearly 20,000 ragtag supporters as it became clear that the common people were on Mary's side more and more Nobles switched their allegiance and as she marched closer to London she was greeted by crowds cheering their rightful Queen Jane and the privy Council were bombarded with news of Mary's increasingly competitive stance and without northumberland's strong personal ity holding them together Lords began skullking away in the night the treasur of the mint went missing and reports came in that he had recruited 10,000 men not for Jane but for Mary Jane knew she was in serious trouble in desperation she ordered the gates of the tower locked and guarded to keep her counselors in she sent increasingly desperate letters to Lords around the country begging them to come to her defense meanwhile Guilford continued to put on airs and dress as a king he presided over Council meetings and dined in state alone finally Northumberland was in position to engage Mary's forces he had fewer men but much stronger artillery that was until his ships anchored off the coast mutinied and lend their considerable Firepower to Mary when news reached him of just how much the odds were stacked against him he abandoned the cause and rode away back in the tower Jane's own Uncle the Earl of arall had abandoned her as well he called an emergency meeting of all the privy counselors who had left Jane together they signed a letter declaring Mary Queen and making Northumberland the scapegoat for everything that had happened arel rad post haste to Mary to tell her of the council's change of heart he begged her forgiveness in the hopes of saving his own neck the rest of the counselors went to cheapside and announced that Mary was now Queen the people rejoiced bonfires were lit wine was guzzled and songs were sung throughout London on July 19th only Jane's husband and father remained with her in the tower Lord gray entered the throne room where his daughter was sitting he removed the cloth of state from over her head in clear indication that she was no longer Queen there was no anger no tears Jane had never wanted the throne and she said she would give it up as gladly as she had accepted it she asked rather naively can and I go home now but rather than her nightmare coming to an end it had only just begun Jane Dudley and Henry gray were escorted from the Royal Apartments to another much less glamorous part of the tower the jailhouse Northumberland who had so nearly taken control of England was arrested by arendel on his cart ride back to London he was pelted with stones on the 3rd of August Queen Mary dressed head to toe in purple velvet gold and jewels rode triumphantly into London to take control of the tower cheering crowds lined the streets she recognized that Jane had been a political pawn and she did not wish to execute her cousin Jane's Mother Frances pled with her childhood friend Mary that her husband and daughter had been LED astray by North umberland Henry gray was pardoned and set free North umberland in desperation converted to Catholicism but that didn't buy him the Queen's Mercy he was beheaded on August 22nd in front of a massive cheering crowd Jane and Guilford remained locked up in separate parts of the tower while Mary's advisors pressured her to dispose of her former usurper on November 13th Jane was led out of the Tower and walked a mile through the Streets of London to the Guild Hall where she was put on trial the court began with a Catholic liturgy Jane dressed in black held a Protestant prayer book she sat calmly as the charges against her were read multiple documents she had signed Jane the queen were used as proof of her treason she plad guilty and was sentenced to burning at the stake or beheading at the Queen's pleasure Mary continued to put off signing the death warrant Jane was family and she might have even pardoned her and allowed her back at court but the cousins still had one big conflict Jane would not convert to Catholicism at any cost Mary's first priority as Queen was to to undo all the Protestant reforms her father and brother had made laws were reversed and mass and the Latin prayer book were reintroduced Mary already 37 was desperate to Wed and give birth to a Catholic Heir who would keep the country on the path of righteousness she fell in love with the portrait of her cousin King Philip II of Spain Philip Was preparing to come to his bride but he was scared off off by a new Uprising in Jane's favor Protestant Sir Thomas Wyatt raised 4,000 men and an attempt to remove Mary from the throne the rebels were defeated easily by the Crown's forces arrested and hanged Henry gray was discovered to be one of the rebels thus sealing his daughter's fate as long as Jane lived she would be a rallying point for Protestant Rebels so Queen Mary signed her cousin's death warrant during their seven months of incarceration Guilford carved his wife's name into the stone wall of his cell when he was informed that he was to die in five days he requested to see Jane one last time but she refused answering that it would only increase their misery and pain and that they would shortly meet again in the afterlife on February 12th 1554 Jane watched from a window as her husband was led to the scaffold where many gentlemen waited to shake the hand of the UR while King consort when the axe struck him she exclaimed oh Guilford Guilford next Jane was brought to the scaffold she was composed and brave even at the sight of the axe and her husband's Decap capitated corpse she gave a short speech confessing her guilt in accepting a throne that was not rightfully hers according to Legend she asked the Executioner will you take it off before I lay me down referring to her head to which he answered no Madam once blindfolded Jane was unable to find the block with her hands and in a moment of panic she cried out what shall I do where is it a witness came forward and helped her to find her way with her head laid down on the Block Jane spoke the last words of Jesus Christ Lord into thy hands I commend my spirit and the 16-year-old nine days Queen lost her head Jane and Guilford were buried together along with other victims of the Tower of London in the chapel of St Peter at viula her father Henry gray was beheaded 11 days later her mother Francis was granted a pardon and lived at court with her surviving daughters Catherine and Mary though Jane remains disputed as a queen of England her innocence and bravery in the face of such overwhelming forces and her tragic demise made her a Protestant martyr and have elevated her brief life to the stuff of Legends Queen Mary the went on to a brutal bloody tragic and short rign of her own which will be the subject of next week's video don't want to wait to see the next episode patrons get exclusive Early Access to almost all of my multi-part series on patreon early if you would like to become a patron and help me make more fascinating history videos check out the link in the description thank you for watching

Channel: History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday

Views: 117,197

Keywords: royal family, royalty, british history, historic costumes, queen, bloody mary, henry viii, anne Boleyn, six wives, tudors, lady jane grey, tower of london, medieval, british royalty, queens of the world, Queen Jane Grey, Queen Jane I, jane grey documentary, jane grey execution, lady jane grey documentary, 9 days queen, nine day queen, tudor history, queens of england, edward vi, king henry viii, king edward vi, English royal history, queen jane, towr of london

Id: tRV8Ib7sAbk

Length: 28min 3sec (1683 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 05 2024