Jane

Lady Jane was the daughter of Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk and 3rd Marquess of Dorset, and the great-granddaughter of King Henry VII through her mother, Lady Frances Brandon. On 21 (or 25) May 1553 [1] Lady Jane was married to Guildford Dudley, the son of John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, who exercised considerable power in the minority of King Edward VI. She was designated heir to the throne of England in "Letters Patent for the Limitation of the Crown" signed by Edward VI on 21 Jun 1553, although the parliamentary acts of the reign of Henry VIII provided for a different order of succession.

The death of Edward VI was kept secret until 9 Jul 1553, when Jane was informed about the demise of the crown and was paid homage at the ceremony in the Syon House, the home of the Duke of Northumberland. The next day, 10 Jul 1553, Jane was taken from Syon to the Tower of London and publicly proclaimed queen. However, Edward's half-sister, Princess Mary, refused to recognize Jane as queen. On 14 Jul 1553 Northumberland and his army left for Cambridge to suppress Mary's supporters. However, Mary won the support of the populace and was recognized the rightful queen in Norwich, Colchester, Devon, Oxfordshire and other places. While Northumberland was out of London, most of the members of the Privy Council deserted Jane and proclaimed Mary queen on 19 Jul 1553. The same evening Jane's father convinced her to relinquish the crown and himself joined the proclamation of Mary. The deposed queen was soon imprisoned and later executed along with her husband on 12 Feb 1554. [2]