Dear my Lady Jane,
I have stumbled, quite by accident, upon discovery of your life on the internet and was greatly interested in your life. Not because you were a Queen for nine days, but because of the mere fact that you were forced to do something you didnt want by a very bad man and, I think, your parents.
As a self taught orchrestra composer, I wished to create an album based upon your life, covering the key aspects/event by communicating to the listeners exactly what emotions were felt during this time.
So far I have listed below what i think is important.
Could you please, if you dont mind ,write out how you felt during this time? and if anything else you feel are very imprtant, please do so add.
To answer your letter
There are many websites out there regarding the life and times of Jane Grey, most are factually accurate and most take a sympathetic viewpoint about the fate of the innocent girl. You have emailed the Jane grey website and the answer will be written by an actor who will deliver the response the way Jane would have done it from her cell in the Tower of London shortly before her execution.
Before the answer then here are some websites of high value to your studies.
www.ladyjanegrey.org/
englishhistory.net/tudor/relative/janegrey.html#Biography
Thank you
Spartanis
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)
Inscribed beneath a portrait of Lady Jane Grey
Tower of London. 1554.
I cannot understand why I am here, I have done nothing wrong and have followed my Father and Husbands wishes as a good daughter and wife should. My Aunt Mary has condemned me to death and I will go to it with dignity, if it means the stability of the Royal family is left intact. I want to go home, I would accept the rule of Mary because she is the rightful Queen of England, but she want to show the country that she is in charge and no-one must cross the line of treason again.
It was a coup which my Husband and Father had hatched to get power under the guise of Protestant continuance, they used my position of birth as a focus to take over this country. I don’t remember my grand parents, Mary and Charles, it is from them that I became close to the throne. Mary was King Henry VIII’s sister and she was married to the King of France, Louis. She didn’t want to marry him but Henry insisted, promising that if he died she could marry a man of her choice afterwards. He did die and she became the dowager Queen of France, Charles was sent to bring her back because Henry had changed his mind and was going to marry her off to another Prince for political gain. Charles and Mary married in Paris against the wishes of Henry. This was calmed down eventually with a fine, Charles and Mary were made Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, I think to be able to pay the fine off. My father, Henry Grey had three daughters, myself, Catherine and Mary. Catherine and Mary had the same attitude as Grandmother, in that they wanted to marry their choice of husband and for love. I’m afraid I did not have their courage of conviction and to my misfortune I followed my Father’s and my Guardian’s wished and married a man whose own Father was fevered with power hungry aims, The Dudleys and I ended up marrying Guildford Dudley because of his father’s political ambitions.
We Suffolks have been pawns in the upheaval since the Death of King Edward VI, trying to keep power, gain power, using our hereditary line as a weapon, I was used badly and now have to pay the same price as these traitors.
I will go to my death, knowing I was a pawn in the political struggle of staging a Coup to gain power. I should have been as strong as my sisters, Catherine and Mary and refused to marry a man chosen by me Father and Guardian. These men have brought me down along with their own lives and family. I don’t blame Queen Mary for my death, I thought she could have shown mercy for my position but she has decided that must die with the others and so be it.
The Curse of womanhood in the Suffolk line.
This timeline has been taken from the website
www.ladyjanegrey.org/
I thank them for the use in this question reply.
• 1536 - King Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour.
• 1537, October 12 - Edward VI, son of King Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, is born. Edward is Henry's first and only male heir to the throne.
• 1537, October - Jane Grey is born, she is the great-granddaughter of King Henry VII and cousin to Edward VI. Jane is named after Jane Seymour.
• 1537, October 24 - Jane Seymour dies.
• 1540 - Katherine Grey, Jane's middle sister is born.
• 1545 - Mary Grey, Jane's youngest sister is born.
• 1546 - Jane is sent to the Court of King Henry VIII to serve his wife, Katherine Parr.
• 1547, January 28 - King Henry VIII dies, Edward VI becomes King.
• 1547, May - Katherine Parr marries the Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour.
• 1548, August 30 - Katherine Parr gives birth to her daughter Mary.
• 1548, September 5 - Katherine Parr dies of complications relating to the birth of her daughter.
• 1549, March 20 - Thomas Seymour is executed for treason.
• 1549 - John Aylmer becomes Jane's tutor.
• 1551 - Jane's parents become the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk. John Dudley is made the Duke of Northumberland. Dudley is also Chief Counselor to King Edward VI.
• 1552 - King Edward VI becomes ill with the measles. Shortly thereafter, he also developed tuberculosis.
• 1553, May 25 - Jane is married to Lord Guildford Dudley, son of John Dudley.
• 1553, June 10 - John Dudley convinces Edward VI to write a will in which Edward names Jane Grey as his successor to the crown.
• 1553, July 6 - King Edward VI dies.
• 1553, July 9 - Lady Jane Grey is called before the Council and told she will be Queen.
• 1553, July 10 - John Dudley declares Jane as the Queen of England.
• 1553, July 19 - Jane was ordered to resign the title of Queen by order of the newly appointed Queen Mary.
• 1554, February 12 - Lady Jane Grey, the nine day queen, is executed.
I have stumbled, quite by accident, upon discovery of your life on the internet and was greatly interested in your life. Not because you were a Queen for nine days, but because of the mere fact that you were forced to do something you didnt want by a very bad man and, I think, your parents.
As a self taught orchrestra composer, I wished to create an album based upon your life, covering the key aspects/event by communicating to the listeners exactly what emotions were felt during this time.
So far I have listed below what i think is important.
Could you please, if you dont mind ,write out how you felt during this time? and if anything else you feel are very imprtant, please do so add.
To answer your letter
There are many websites out there regarding the life and times of Jane Grey, most are factually accurate and most take a sympathetic viewpoint about the fate of the innocent girl. You have emailed the Jane grey website and the answer will be written by an actor who will deliver the response the way Jane would have done it from her cell in the Tower of London shortly before her execution.
Before the answer then here are some websites of high value to your studies.
www.ladyjanegrey.org/
englishhistory.net/tudor/relative/janegrey.html#Biography
Thank you
Spartanis
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)
Inscribed beneath a portrait of Lady Jane Grey
Tower of London. 1554.
I cannot understand why I am here, I have done nothing wrong and have followed my Father and Husbands wishes as a good daughter and wife should. My Aunt Mary has condemned me to death and I will go to it with dignity, if it means the stability of the Royal family is left intact. I want to go home, I would accept the rule of Mary because she is the rightful Queen of England, but she want to show the country that she is in charge and no-one must cross the line of treason again.
It was a coup which my Husband and Father had hatched to get power under the guise of Protestant continuance, they used my position of birth as a focus to take over this country. I don’t remember my grand parents, Mary and Charles, it is from them that I became close to the throne. Mary was King Henry VIII’s sister and she was married to the King of France, Louis. She didn’t want to marry him but Henry insisted, promising that if he died she could marry a man of her choice afterwards. He did die and she became the dowager Queen of France, Charles was sent to bring her back because Henry had changed his mind and was going to marry her off to another Prince for political gain. Charles and Mary married in Paris against the wishes of Henry. This was calmed down eventually with a fine, Charles and Mary were made Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, I think to be able to pay the fine off. My father, Henry Grey had three daughters, myself, Catherine and Mary. Catherine and Mary had the same attitude as Grandmother, in that they wanted to marry their choice of husband and for love. I’m afraid I did not have their courage of conviction and to my misfortune I followed my Father’s and my Guardian’s wished and married a man whose own Father was fevered with power hungry aims, The Dudleys and I ended up marrying Guildford Dudley because of his father’s political ambitions.
We Suffolks have been pawns in the upheaval since the Death of King Edward VI, trying to keep power, gain power, using our hereditary line as a weapon, I was used badly and now have to pay the same price as these traitors.
I will go to my death, knowing I was a pawn in the political struggle of staging a Coup to gain power. I should have been as strong as my sisters, Catherine and Mary and refused to marry a man chosen by me Father and Guardian. These men have brought me down along with their own lives and family. I don’t blame Queen Mary for my death, I thought she could have shown mercy for my position but she has decided that must die with the others and so be it.
The Curse of womanhood in the Suffolk line.
This timeline has been taken from the website
www.ladyjanegrey.org/
I thank them for the use in this question reply.
• 1536 - King Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour.
• 1537, October 12 - Edward VI, son of King Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, is born. Edward is Henry's first and only male heir to the throne.
• 1537, October - Jane Grey is born, she is the great-granddaughter of King Henry VII and cousin to Edward VI. Jane is named after Jane Seymour.
• 1537, October 24 - Jane Seymour dies.
• 1540 - Katherine Grey, Jane's middle sister is born.
• 1545 - Mary Grey, Jane's youngest sister is born.
• 1546 - Jane is sent to the Court of King Henry VIII to serve his wife, Katherine Parr.
• 1547, January 28 - King Henry VIII dies, Edward VI becomes King.
• 1547, May - Katherine Parr marries the Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour.
• 1548, August 30 - Katherine Parr gives birth to her daughter Mary.
• 1548, September 5 - Katherine Parr dies of complications relating to the birth of her daughter.
• 1549, March 20 - Thomas Seymour is executed for treason.
• 1549 - John Aylmer becomes Jane's tutor.
• 1551 - Jane's parents become the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk. John Dudley is made the Duke of Northumberland. Dudley is also Chief Counselor to King Edward VI.
• 1552 - King Edward VI becomes ill with the measles. Shortly thereafter, he also developed tuberculosis.
• 1553, May 25 - Jane is married to Lord Guildford Dudley, son of John Dudley.
• 1553, June 10 - John Dudley convinces Edward VI to write a will in which Edward names Jane Grey as his successor to the crown.
• 1553, July 6 - King Edward VI dies.
• 1553, July 9 - Lady Jane Grey is called before the Council and told she will be Queen.
• 1553, July 10 - John Dudley declares Jane as the Queen of England.
• 1553, July 19 - Jane was ordered to resign the title of Queen by order of the newly appointed Queen Mary.
• 1554, February 12 - Lady Jane Grey, the nine day queen, is executed.