Young, beautiful and learned Jane, intent On knowledge, fount it peace; her vast acquirement Of goodness was her fall; she was content With dulcet pleasures, such as calm retirement Yields to the wise alone; -- her only vice Was virtue: in obedience to her sire And lord she died, with them a sacrifice To their ambition: her own mild desire Was rather to be happy than be great; For though at their request, she claimed the crown, That they through her might rise to rule the state, Yet the bright diadem and gorgeous throne She viewed as cares, dimming the dignity Of her unsullied mind and pur benignity. by William Hone (1780 -1842)
I was born on October 12 1537, a great-granddaughter of Henry VII of England, reigned de facto as queen regnant of the Kingdom of England for nine days in 1553. Popular history sometimes refers to me as "The Nine Days' Queen" (July 10 -July 19, 1553). I was executed for treason on February 12, 1554.My dear mother, Lady Frances Brandon, had a claim to the throne as the daughter of King Henry VIII's younger sister Mary Tudor. (Frances Brandon's father, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, had married Mary Tudor as her second husband.) My status as a monarch remains controversial, as my succession contravened two Acts of Parliament. The Act of Succession of 1544 enabled the will of King Henry VIII to specify the order of succession of his children. In contrast, the published will of King Edward VI, which named me as heir presumptive, contravened the law because Edward, as a minor, had not legally reached an age where he could make a will.
Duke of Suffolk, the Earl of Pembroke, and others of the nobility, offering me the Crown.
Reluctance to accept the Crown, July 8th, 1553.
Though my "accession" breached the laws of England, many powers of the land were willing to accept me as Queen of England, even if only as part of a power-struggle to stop Henry's elder daughter, Princess Mary (a Roman Catholic) from acceding to the throne. My brief rule ended, however, when the authorities revoked my proclamation as queen. The new Marian régime eventually had me executed for treason.
I had a reputation as one of the most learned women of my day, and the historian Alison Weir describes me as one of "the finest female minds of the century".
Edward VI died on July 6, 1553. Northumberland had me proclaimed Queen of England during my stay at the New Inn, Gloucester on July 10, 1553, just four days later. Northumberland tricked me into putting on the crown; however, I refused to name my husband as king, titling him instead the Duke of Clarence. This infuriated the Dudleys, and Guilford's mother counselled him to refuse to share my bed and to leave my castle. I had the castle guard stop him, and told him what he did at night did not concern me, but that during the day he belonged at my side.
Mary I proved to have more popular support than me, partly because of the continuing sympathy for the treatment her mother (Catherine of Aragon) had received at the hands of Henry VIII. At Framlingham Castle Mary amassed a force of 20,000 men which marched to London and deposed me. There then initially seemed some likelihood that Mary, who had now taken the throne, would spare my life. Queen Mary sent John de Feckenham to me in an attempt to convert me to Catholicism.
The Protestant rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyatt in the first months of 1554 sealed my fate, despite the fact that I had nothing to do with it directly. Wyatt's rebellion started as a popular revolt, precipitated by the imminent marriage of Mary to the Catholic Prince Philip (later King of Spain, 1556 - 1598). But my father (the Duke of Suffolk) and other nobles joined the rebellion, calling for my restoration as Queen. Philip and his councillors pressed Mary to execute me to put an end to any future focus for unrest. Mary offered me a pardon if I would convert to Catholicism, but I refused. Five days after Wyatt's arrest the execution of myself and Guilford took place.
On the morning of February 12, 1554, the authorities took my husband from his rooms at the Tower of London to the public execution place at Tower Hill and had him beheaded. A horse cart carried his remains back to the Tower of London, past the rooms where I remained as a prisoner. I was then taken out to Tower Green, inside the Tower of London, for a private execution. My private execution occurred at the request of Queen Mary, as a gesture of respect for her me. John de Feckenham, who had failed to convert me, stayed with me during the execution. I had determined to go to my death with dignity, but once blindfolded, could not find the executioner's block. I had begun to panic when an unknown hand, possibly de Feckenham, helped me find my way and retain my dignity in the end.
I died at the age of 16 years. Guilford and I lie buried in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula on the north side of Tower Green.
Queen Mary imprisoned but subsequently pardoned Northumberland's other sons John, Ambrose, Henry and Robert for their part in their father's scheme. MyGen Profile Generator