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1500s: The nine day queen and Henry VIII’s great-niece
Lady Jane Grey Nine Days Queen
What you need to know before your trail
Jane Grey’s tragedy was her royal blood. As Henry VIII’s great-niece she stood perilously close to the throne and from early childhood was used as a pawn in the deadly power game of Tudor politics. Jane was not happy at home – she once famously remarked that she thought herself in hell in her parents’ company – and sought consolation in her studies and the uncompromising Protestantism fashionable in the l550s.
When it became clear that her cousin Edward VI was dying she was forced into marriage with a son of the powerful John Dudley Duke of Northumberland and confronted with the news that the king had made her his heir. So began her reign as the Nine Days Queen, leading to her imprisonment in the Tower and execution at the age of sixteen.
Travel Guide
BookTrail your travel to Lady Jane Grey’s London
Bradgate House
While the exact details of Jane’s birth are not known, it is believed that she was born at Bradgate House, her father’s family seat. It’s now a partial ruin as the chapel is the only part left in tact.
The house was damaged in a fire in 1694 and by 1790 had fallen into disrepair.
Chelsea Place, London
Jane was sent to be a lady-in-waiting for Katherine Parr. Her husband Thomas Seymour was brought up at Wolf Hall. Their main resident was here at Chelsea Place in Ldonon
The original streets and houses are now more but are where Cheyne Walk, Chelsea now stands
Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire
Jane went here with Thomas and Katherine Seymour to Sudeley Castle in 1548, when Katherine went during her confinement.
Durham House, London
Jane was married to Lord Guildford Dudley in May 1553, aged 16 at Durham House. She didn’t want to marry him and soon moved back to her parents house
The buildings fell into desrepair and now are the Adelphi Buildings, which include the Royal Society of Arts. The site of Durham House is located near the Strand
The New Inn, Gloucester
This was the building where Jane was proclaimed Queen of England
This medieval inn is one of the finest examples of a galleried courtyard in England. The 600-year-old building is still run as a working inn and pub.
Tower of London
After she was proclaimed queen, Jane lived into the royal apartments at the Tower of London. Nine days later she was taken to another room and tol Mary I had been proclaimed Queen. Four months after Mary was crowned, Jane was executed here.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Lady Jane Grey Nine Days Queen
Destination: London, England Author/Guide: Alison Plowden Departure Time: 1550s
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