What would Queen Jane's rule be like?

perfectgeneral

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Lady Jane Grey has fascinated historians for centuries - not just because she was Queen of England for a mere nine days, but because her life and death represented the political and religious climate of her day. She has been widely acknowledged as the quintessential Protestant Martyr, who died because of her failure to reject her religious beliefs. There is much more to her story however, and this article will examine her life and the circumstances that surrounded her death.

She was born in 1537, the eldest daughter to Henry Grey (who later became the Duke of Suffolk) and Frances Brandon, at Bradgate Manor near Leicester. Her birth however was overshadowed by another event occurring some miles away - the birth of her mothers' cousin Edward, to Jane Seymour, and King Henry VIIIs' long-awaited male heir. The baby girl was hastily named 'Jane' in honor of the Queen, before her father left to pay his respects to the Royal Court.


As a child of Royal blood (her mother Frances was the daughter of King Henry VIIIs' youngest sister Mary), she probably began her education at the tender age of three, and lived a sheltered life with her sisters (Katherine and Mary) at Bradgate until she was nine or ten years old. At this point Henry was dead, Edward VI was king, and she was accepted into the household of Catherine Parr. Catherine had been Henry's last wife but she had remarried when Henry died (Thomas Seymour). Jane had only been in Catherine's household for a year when her mistress died and she became a ward of her surviving husband. Seymour paid Jane's father 2000 pounds in order to keep her at the Royal court. Shortly afterwards, however, Seymour fell from grace and Jane returned home to Bradgate.
By 1551 Jane was corresponding with a number of religious scholars in Continental Europe, the chief among whom was Bullinger, the chief pastor at the Zurich school, and all of these learned men praised Jane's intelligence and her religious piety. She undoubtedly was intelligent but many also believed, indeed hoped, that she would one day marry the King.

Unfortunately, Edward was sickly, and by 1553 was in the advanced stages of tuberculosis. The powerful Duke of Northumberland (Edward's chief minister) rightly believed that if Mary (Henry VIIIs' eldest, and Catholic daughter) succeeded Edward (as had been decreed in Henry's will), he would lose his power and possibly be executed for his Protestant beliefs. He therefore set a plan in motion, which would directly involve Jane and ultimately lead to her destruction.

Northumberland realizing that Jane was fourth in line to the throne (after Mary, Elizabeth, and Jane's mother Frances) began to suggest to Edward that a Protestant heir would better serve England. He also focused on getting close to Jane's parents and by May of 1553 had succeeded. They readily accepted that Jane should marry Northumberlands' son Guildford Dudley.

Jane protested the marriage stating that she was already promised to Edward, Lord Hertford, despite the fact that no formal arrangements had been made. The real reason she was opposed to the marriage was because she fervently detested Northumberland and, by extension, his entire family. However, her parents assured her that she would remain at Bradgate and so she was married to Guildford at Durham House in London by the end of May. During the same ceremony her sister Katherine was also married (to Lord Herbert, son of the powerful Earl of Pembroke) and Northumberland's own daughter (also Katherine) was married to Lord Hastings. That day, Northumberland had managed to ally himself to three of the most powerful families in the Royal Court.

By early June, Northumberland disclosed his main plan - to make Jane Queen, to her parents, and, at that time she was moved to Durham House to live with her husband. Jane herself was unaware of the plotting, but was informed that the King was 'extremely ill' and that she should 'prepare herself' for whatever Edward might plan for her. By this stage, Northumberland had managed to convince the sick, bed-ridden Edward to change Henry's will and name Jane as his heir.

Although Edward died on Thursday 6th July 1553, Jane was not aware of the fact until the Sunday. She had been ill herself and had been recuperating at Chelsea Manor for the past few weeks. That Sunday, her sister-in-law, Lady Mary Sidney, came to collect Jane and bring her (as per Northumberlands' orders) to Syon House, her father-in-laws residence on the Thames. She was not allowed to refuse the journey despite her illness.

As she walked into the Great Hall at Syon House, to her amazement everyone began to bow before her. Northumberland announced that Edward was dead and had decreed that Jane should be his heir. She did not take the news well - she fainted and when finally revived declared 'The Crown is not my right, and pleaseth me not'. In the end though, she had no say in the matter.

The next day (Monday 10th July, 1553) she was transported by barge down the Thames to the Tower of London, the banks of the river crowded with people trying to get a glimpse of their tiny Queen. She was crowned in the White Tower and took up residence in the Royal Chambers at the Tower. Much to Northumberland's displeasure she refused to give Guildford kingship.

To say Mary Tudor was not pleased with this turn of events would be a major understatement. Both Mary and Elizabeth had been declared Henry VIIIs' 'illegitimate bastards'. Robert Dudley was sent to take Mary into custody, but she had already fled to Framlington Castle, and to her ardent supporters, in Norfolk. Once there she sent a message demanding Jane renounce her title or she would take her crown by force.

Jane had met Mary before, the latter giving her elaborate presents. She certainly had no desire to upset the formidable Mary now, nor did she want the throne. During her short reign, Jane was extremely stressed, and when the Council decided that her father should go to capture Mary she pleaded that he stayed with her. This was to prove fatal - Northumberland went in his place. While he was gone, the Council began to question his authority, promptly leaving the Tower for Baynard's Castle, where they proclaimed Northumberland a traitor and Mary, the Queen. Jane willingly resigned, but she was not allowed to leave the Tower.

On the 20th of July Northumberland was arrested and Jane's parents fled the Tower leaving their daughter and her husband behind. Jane and Guildford were promptly taken into custody and moved out of the Royal Chamber - Jane to 5 Tower Green and Guildford to neighboring Beauchamp Tower. They were forbidden to see each other.

Despite the fact that Northumberland recanted Protestantism he was beheaded on the 23rd August 1553. Jane remained in the Tower, despite the fact that Mary realized she had simply been a pawn in the whole affair. The two women even dined together at the Tower. Mary gave her the choice - recant Protestantism and live. Jane refused but she still did not expect to die. Another event however sealed her fate - her father was found to be part of the Wyatt Rebellion (a group led by James Wyatt) who were adamantly against Mary choosing Philip of Spain as her husband. Mary began to believe that if she kept Jane alive the threat would always be present.

On the 12th February 1554 Guildford was executed first on Tower Hill, and Jane wept openly when his body was returned to the Tower. Jane herself was not executed publicly, but within the confines of the Tower itself. She went calmly to her death with the last words Jesus had uttered on the cross: "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit".

Her body lay unattended for four hours while they decided where they should bury her. Eventually, she was laid to rest, without ceremony, beside the beheaded former wives of Henry VIII (Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard), beneath the floor of the Chapel Royal, St. Peter-ad-Vincula, at the Tower of London.

In conclusion, Lady Jane Grey, Queen for nine days, was beheaded at the age of sixteen. A pawn in Northumberland's' greed for power, an example of the fanatical, religious feelings of the time, and a young woman mercilessly killed before her time. Who knows what might have happened if Mary had been captured?
So there it is then. Robert Dudley is quicker off the mark. He captures Mary and she and Elizabeth are by-passed as illegitimate. Queen Jane begins the Dudley dynasty. How goes it?

The Dudleys were keen on overseas exploration and The Duke of Northumberland would be keen to retain much of the powers he had held as de facto Regent, but Queen Jane was emphatic that her husband (and though him her father in law) was not king.
 
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She was quite a strong-willed woman, more so than a lot of people think nowadays. She wasn't so innocent in it all... So I reckon she'd continue the heavily anti-Catholic stance that Edward VI had done. Also she's be married of to some Protestant monarch (potentially a Scot, Scandinavian or German. Likely German.).
 
Interesting..... This could have a fatal butterflies, for one thing Puritans and pilgrims wouldn't leave for the new world, meaning no Jamestown or Plymouth leading to no English expedition to The new world and no Elizabethen era of cultural growth for Britain, although it would put am end to the relgious wars.... Will it be a TL cause it would make a very good TL.
 

perfectgeneral

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She was already married to Guildford Dudley.

Northumberland's issue:
Henry Dudley
Thomas Dudley (died as a child)
John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick
Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick
Mary Sidney
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Henry Dudley
Guilford Dudley
Catherine Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon
Catherine Dudley (died as a child)
Charles Dudley (died as a child)
Temperance Dudley (died as a child)
Margaret Dudley (died as a child)

The wider Dudley dynasty:
John Sutton, 3rd Baron Dudley
Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley
Henry_Sutton_Dudley
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk (Jane's father)
Lady Catherine Grey (sister)
Lady Mary Grey (sister)

It is possible that Elizabeth will be free to marry Robert Dudley in this scenario, but will he be free to marry her? Would the Dudleys gain from such a match?
 
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Jane I's reign would not be pretty. Mary had popular support within London, there were Catholic houses among the nobility who would probably be willing to field an army if it came to that, and the symbolic value of the tentative alliance between the daughters of Henry VIII would be hard to beat.

And let's not forget Team Dudley is not exactly without its internal divisions. Dudley's effort--if I recall correctly--to persuade Jane to make his son king isn't just distasteful. It means that even after Jane refused him in this there will be lingering distrust between Jane and her chief backer.

And finally, Mary in real history held the throne as securely as she did because she was a daughter of Henry VIII who had once been invested as the Princess of Wales, no matter the legal gymnastics with respect to she and her mother in ensuing years. And of course marrying the king of the greatest military power in Europe didn't hurt.

And Elizabeth held power as securely as she did after Mary likewise not just because she was a daughter of Henry VIII, but also because of her shrewdness and indomitable will. As adept as Jane may have been at theology, could she have done as well as that? Or, would those same qualities lead Elizabeth in this situation to become an immensely effective architect of insurrection against Jane?

This whole scenario to me portends, rather than a long Elizabeth-like reign by Queen Jane, a period of prolonged instability more like the War of the Roses. And as the conflict continues, the number of variables multiply. For all we know the ultimate winner could be that other famous Mary descended from Henry VII, the Queen of Scotland.

I agree it would make a very good timeline, if for nothing but the sheer turmoil. But I don't think there would, in the event Jane I actually defends her throne successfully, be a lack of English colonists for the new world.

Indeed, all those Howards are going to have to go somewhere.
 
By the way, I just thought about something:

(1) The key to Jane's reign enduring past its duration in real history is taking Mary into custody.
(2) In order for them to be secure they would have to take Elizabeth too.
(3) There is only one place in the realm where the two of them could be securely held.

So you all know what this means...The Princesses in the Tower!
 
Dr. Waterhouse said:
By the way, I just thought about something:

(1) The key to Jane's reign enduring past its duration in real history is taking Mary into custody.
(2) In order for them to be secure they would have to take Elizabeth too.
(3) There is only one place in the realm where the two of them could be securely held.

So you all know what this means...The Princesses in the Tower!

Taking Mary into custody is understandable as she was a hard liner Catholic. But why would they need to take Elizabeth into custody? Besides the fact that she would have more legitimacy than Jane Grey, Elizabeth was not a real threat at the time.

From what I read on a book on the Tudors, Elizabeth was very close with her younger brother, Edward VI. Why wouldn't she accept the decision of her brother to make Jane Grey the Queen?

Also, I doubt we would have the same event as with Richard III and The Princes in the Tower, when Richard killed his nephews to secure the throne. Nothumberland might have the princesses locked in the Tower, but it would be dangerous to execute them : Richard III's days happened merely half a century ago and it wouldn't take long for people to see how those events would be similar.
 
Mary and Elizabeth had been excluded from the succession (this time) by the same legal instrument, and both on account of illegitimacy. Now, the most familiar arguments for the illegitimacy of each are different and in fact mutually exclusive, that with respect to Mary being because it was incest for Henry to bed his brother's widow according to the Church's rules, that with respect to Elizabeth because when Henry begat her he was still legally married to Katherine of Aragon.

But we don't even need to descend into all the legal arguments with respect to incest, bigamy and the validity of Henry's first marriage and that first marriage's dissolution, because Team Mary and Team Elizabeth may not be able to agree on anything else, but they agree on that piece of paper being the chief thing barring their princess from ever taking the throne.

So literally it makes allies out of the daughters of Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. That this is so is apparent when, in our timeline, Mary wins and enters London in triumph, the Princess Elizabeth and Anne of Cleves rides with her in the carriage.

Maybe Elizabeth had a warm relationship with Edward. Certainly Edward's mother Jane Seymour did much to normalize Henry VIII's family, and maybe that appreciation extended to her son. But. Keep in mind that for Elizabeth the crux of the matter with respect to her exclusion from the succession is her status as a bastard, and her mother's status as a whore.

I don't think kindly memories of little brother, or even the possibility of a quiet marriage to Robert Dudley and a comfortable titled retirement from public life would outweigh that. Not with the blood of Margaret Beaufort, Elizabeth Woodville and Anne Boleyn flowing through those veins. Certainly not considering what we know of the queen Elizabeth matured into.

Both Mary and Elizabeth endured immense suffering over the question of their own legitimacy and the legacy of their respective mothers, quite apart from the matter of succession. I don't think either one would voluntarily lay down the struggle other than as a short-term tactical maneuver. And apparently between the two of them they were willing to deal, Elizabeth supporting Mary and Mary willing (though not happy) to have Elizabeth her heir.

But against a usurper whose claim relied on their illegitimacy? Surely it would have been a fight to someone's death.

Taking Mary into custody is understandable as she was a hard liner Catholic. But why would they need to take Elizabeth into custody? Besides the fact that she would have more legitimacy than Jane Grey, Elizabeth was not a real threat at the time.

From what I read on a book on the Tudors, Elizabeth was very close with her younger brother, Edward VI. Why wouldn't she accept the decision of her brother to make Jane Grey the Queen?

Also, I doubt we would have the same event as with Richard III and The Princes in the Tower, when Richard killed his nephews to secure the throne. Nothumberland might have the princesses locked in the Tower, but it would be dangerous to execute them : Richard III's days happened merely half a century ago and it wouldn't take long for people to see how those events would be similar.
 
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