On this day in Tudor history, 16th July 1517, Mary Tudor, Queen of France, and her husband, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, welcomed a daughter into the world, Frances.
This little girl grew up to be Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk, and she is often reduced to a footnote in history — simply the mother of the tragic Lady Jane Grey. But who was she really?
In my latest video, I dive into Frances’ life and look at how she’s been maligned by centuries of misrepresentation.
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On this day in Tudor history, 13th November, mercer and member of Parliament Robert Packington was shot to death by an unknown assailant (1536); and Lady Jane Grey and her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley, two of his brothers, and Archbishop Cranmer were tried for treason…
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th July, Edmund Dudley, a man who’d been influential in Henry VII’s reign, was convicted of treason; the Earls of Pembroke and Arundel betrayed Queen Jane; and Elizabeth I’s chief gentlewoman of the privy chamber, Katherine Ashley (Astley), died…
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On this day in Tudor history, 15th July, royal ships changed sides from Queen Jane to Queen Mary; the Newbury Martyrs were tried for sedition and heresy; and famous architect and theatre designer Inigo Jones was born…
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On this day in Tudor history, 13th July, the famous multi-talented John Dee was born; members of the new Queen Jane’s council were meeting with the imperial ambassadors; and poet and courtier Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, died at Penshurst…
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th July, Henry VIII married his sixth wife, Catherine Parr; men flocked to Lady Mary’s cause and Queen Jane made a mistake; and four Protestants were burnt at the stake in Canterbury for heresy…
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On this day in Tudor history, 11th July, the pope ordered Henry VIII to abandon Anne Boleyn on pain of excommunication; some Suffolk men were torn between supporting Queen Jane or Lady Mary; and plague hit Stratford-upon-Avon…
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On this day in Tudor history, Lady Jane Grey was received at the Tower of London and proclaimed queen; Francis Throckmorton was executed for high treason after the discovery of the Throckmorton Plot; and Elizabeth I visited the royal mint to check on her new coins…
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On this day in Tudor history, 21st June, Henry VIII travelled from Greenwich to the Tower of London; Catherine of Aragon gave an impassioned speech at the Legatine Court; letters patent were issued stating that Edward VI’s heir was Lady Jane Grey…
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On this day in Tudor history, an earthquake shook Croydon and neighbouring villages, and Lady Jane Grey married Lord Guildford Dudley, son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, in a triple wedding at Durham Place…
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th February, Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guildford Dudley were executed for treason, and Blanche Parry, chief gentlewoman of Elizabeth I’s privy chamber, died…
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On this day in Tudor history, 9th February, Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, was taken to the Tower of London, Lady Jane Grey’s execution was postponed, and a prominent bishop was burnt at the stake for heresy…
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On this day in Tudor history, 25th May 1553, in the reign of King Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey married Lord Guildford Dudley at Durham Place, the Dudley family’s London residence.
Jane was the daughter of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, and Frances Brandon, and granddaughter of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and Mary Tudor, Queen of France, and Guildford was the son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and Jane Guildford, and the grandson of Edmund Dudley, one of Henry VII’s chief advisors.
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This day in Tudor history, 9th February 1554, in the reign of Queen Mary I, was one of the dates set for the execution of Lady Jane Grey, the former Queen Jane, but she was granted a three-day reprieve.
Why and what had happened between her trial in November 1553, when she had been condemned to death, and this day?
Let me tell you…
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On this day in Tudor history, 31st July 1553, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was “discharged out of the Tower by the Earle of Arundell and had the Quenes pardon.”
Suffolk had been imprisoned after Mary I had overthrown his daughter, Queen Jane, or Lady Jane Grey, and been proclaimed queen on 19th July 1553. Suffolk’s release was down to his wife, Frances, interceding with her cousin the queen and begging for mercy.
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th July 1565, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the queen’s close friend and loyal servant, Kat Ashley, died.
Find out more about Kat (also known as Katherine Ashley, Katherine Astley and Katherine Champernowne) in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 13th July 1553, while the queen’s father-in-law, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was preparing to leave London to apprehend the late Henry VIII’s daughter, Mary, members of Queen Jane’s royal council were meeting with the imperial ambassadors.
What was the meeting about?
What was the news from East Anglia?
And why were the queen’s councillors beginning to feel uneasy?
Let me explain…
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th July 1553, Mary (future Mary I), the half-sister of the late King Edward VI, moved from Kenninghall to Framlingham Castle. There, she set about rallying support for her claim to the throne.
Lady Jane Grey, Mary’s cousin’s daughter, had been proclaimed queen on 10th July but Mary believed the crown was hers.
Sir Thomas Cornwallis was able to intercept Mary on her journey to Framlingham and pledge his loyalty to her. He wasn’t the only one flocking to her cause.
Meanwhile, back in London, the new queen, Queen Jane, made a serious mistake by refusing to send her father to go and apprehend Mary.
Why was this a mistake?
Find out what was going on back in 1553 in this video…
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On this day in Tudor history, 11th July 1553, Sir Thomas Cornwallis, sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, Lord Thomas Wentworth, and some other prominent Suffolk gentlemen declared for Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey) in Ipswich, Suffolk. They then publicly proclaimed her the rightful queen.
However, the following day, Cornwallis recanted and proclaimed Mary as queen.
Why?
What happened to make this sheriff change his mind so soon?
Find out more about the situation in July 1553 in this video…
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th July 1549, in the reign of King Edward VI, a rebellion began in East Anglia. It was Kett’s Rebellion.
Find out more about Kett’s Rebellion, why it began, what happened next and what happened to the rebels leaders, in this short video:
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July 1553 was a month of three Tudor monarchs – Edward VI, Queen Jane and Mary I – but how did this come about?
In this talk, historian and author Claire Ridgway looks at what led to the events of July 1553 and particularly the actions that Mary took to stage her successful coup d’etat.
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th July 1553, fifteen-year-old King Edward VI died at Greenwich Palace.
His “devise for the succession” named his heir as Lady Jane Grey, the daughter of Edward’s cousin, Frances Grey (née Brandon), Duchess of Suffolk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 21st June 1509, the new king, the nearly 18-year-old Henry VIII, travelled from Greenwich to the Tower of London.
Why was Henry VIII going to the Tower?
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On this day in Tudor history, 25th May 1553, Lady Jane Grey got married to Lord Guildford Dudley, son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland.
They weren’t the only couple to get married in the ceremony at Durham House, Jane’s sister, Katherine, and Guildford’s sister, Catherine, also got married.
Find out more…
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th August 1553, less than a month after his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey or Queen Jane, had been overthrown by Queen Mary I, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was tried for treason at Westminster Hall in London.
During his trial, Northumberland pointed out that it couldn’t be treason to be acting by royal warrant and that some of those judging him had acted under the same warrant, but it did him no good.
Find out what happened at his trial, what his reaction was to his sentence, and what happened to William Parr, Marquess of Northampton, and John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, who were tried with him…
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In this latest edition in my “Facts about…” series, I share 18 interesting facts about Lady Jane Grey, or Queen Jane, who is also known as “The Nine Day Queen”.
Find out more about the fourth Tudor monarch…
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On this day in Tudor history, 25th May 1553, in the reign of King Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey married Lord Guildford Dudley.
The bride and groom were from prominent families, but there is the prevailing idea that this marriage was part of a plot by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland.
Find out more…
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In this first part of “This Week in Tudor History”, I introduce a chap named John, one of the many johns in his family, who turned down a title; explain why Lady Jane Grey’s execution was postponed and what happened, and introduce an earl who appears to have been a bit of a Tudor bad boy.
8th February 1545, in the reign of King Henry VIII – Death of courtier and soldier Sir John Arundell of Lanherne, or John Arundell III, a man who turned down a barony from King Henry VIII. Find out why.
9th February 1554 – Queen Mary I postpones Lady Jane Grey’s scheduled execution and gives her a three-day reprieve…
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