Crown of Blood Read online

  CROWN

  OF BLOOD

  The Deadly Inheritance

  of Lady Jane Grey

  NICOLA TALLIS

  This book is, in many ways, a story about cousins,

  and thus I’ve chosen to dedicate it to mine.

  For the brightest star in the sky,

  Alan William Robertson

  (1985–2005)

  CONTENTS

  List of Illustrations

  Genealogical Tables

  Timeline

  Author’s Note

  Introduction

  Prologue

  Chapter 1: A Time to be Born and a Time to Die

  Chapter 2: Rejoiced All True Hearts

  Chapter 3: Anyone More Deserving of Respect

  Chapter 4: The Imperial Crown

  Chapter 5: A Loving and Kind Father

  Chapter 6: A Second Court of Right

  Chapter 7: Ruled and Framed Towards Virtue

  Chapter 8: She Did Never Love Her After

  Chapter 9: I Think Myself in Hell

  Chapter 10: Godly Instruction

  Chapter 11: A Comely, Virtuous and Goodly Gentleman

  Chapter 12: The First Act of a Tragedy

  Chapter 13: Long Live the Queen!

  Chapter 14: Falsely Styled Queen

  Chapter 15: Jana Non Regina

  Chapter 16: Shut Up in the Tower

  Chapter 17: Jane of Suffolk Deserved Death

  Chapter 18: Justice is an Excellent Virtue

  Chapter 19: Fear Not for Any Pain

  Chapter 20: Liberty of the Tower

  Chapter 21: The Permanent Ruin of the Ancient House of Grey

  Chapter 22: Bound by Indissoluble Ties

  Chapter 23: I am Come Hither to Die

  Chapter 24: God and Posterity Will Show Me Favour

  Epilogue

  Appendix 1: The Queen Without a Face: Portraits of Lady Jane Grey

  Appendix 2: Jane’s Debate with Dr John Feckenham

  Appendix 3: Following in Jane’s Footsteps: Places to Visit

  Notes and References

  Bibliography

  Acknowledgements

  Illustrations

  Index

  LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

  Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon, Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, Jan Gossaert, c. 1516 (© His Grace the Duke of Bedford and the Trustees of the Bedford Estates, from the Woburn Abbey Collection).

  Tomb of Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, St Edmund’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey (© Dean and Chapter of Westminster).

  Lady Katherine Grey, Levina Teerlinc, c. 1555-60 (© Victoria and Albert Museum, London).

  Lady Mary Grey, Hans Eworth, sixteenth century (by kind permission of the Chequers Trust; photo © Mark Fiennes / Bridgeman Images).

  Engraving of John Aylmer, Unknown Artist, eighteenth century (© National Portrait Gallery, London).

  Bradgate Park (© Andrew Tongue).

  Henry VIII, Unknown Artist, c. 1545 (© National Portrait Gallery, London).

  Edward VI, by Workshop associated with Master John, c. 1547 (© National Portrait Gallery, London).

  Mary I, Antonio Moro, 1554 (© Prado, Madrid, Spain / Bridgeman Images).

  Elizabeth I when Princess, at the age of about thirteen, Guillaume Scrots, c. 1546 (Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2015 / Bridgeman Images).

  King Edward VI and the Pope by Unknown Artist c.1575 (© National Portrait Gallery, London).

  Katherine Parr, attributed to Master John, c. 1544 (© National Portrait Gallery, London).

  Sir Thomas Seymour, Unknown Artist, sixteenth century (© National Portrait Gallery, London).

  Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire (© Nigel Schermuly on behalf of Sudeley Castle).

  Engraving of Durham Place, English School, nineteenth century (Private Collection © Look and Learn / Bridgeman Images).

  Engraving of Syon House from R. Ackermann’s ‘Repository of Arts’, John Gendall, 1823 (Private Collection / The Stapleton Collection / Bridgeman Images).

  ‘My Devise for the Succession’ Inner Temple Library, Petyt MS. 538.47, folio 317 (by kind permission of The Masters of the Bench of the Inner Temple).

  Framlingham Castle, Suffolk (© Sean Milligan).

  The Great Hall, Guildhall (© Mike Booth / Alamy).

  The White Tower, Tower of London (© Nicola Tallis).

  Queen’s House, Tower of London (© Nicola Tallis).

  ‘Jane’ Carving in the Beauchamp Tower, Tower of London (© Nicola Tallis).

  Jane’s signature as queen, 1553, MS328, ff.36-40 (by kind permission of the Warden and Scholars of New College, Oxford).

  Dudley Carving in the Beauchamp Tower, Tower of London (© Nicola Tallis).

  Lady Jane Grey’s Prayer Book (© The British Library Board).

  The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, Paul Delaroche, 1833 (© National Gallery, London, England; photo by VCG Wilson / Corbis via Getty Images).

  GENEALOGICAL TABLES

  THE HOUSE OF TUDOR

  THE HOUSE OF SUFFOLK

  THE HOUSE OF GREY

  TIMELINE

  1533–4 Henry Grey marries Frances Brandon

  1536 Lady Jane Grey is born

  October 1536 The Pilgrimage of Grace breaks out in Lincolnshire

  12 October 1537 Prince Edward is born

  1540 Lady Katherine Grey is born

  1544 Third Act of Succession passed in Parliament

  1545 Lady Mary Grey is born

  30 December 1546 Henry VIII makes his final will

  28 January 1547 Henry VIII dies, succeeded by Edward VI

  February 1547 Jane becomes Sir Thomas Seymour’s ward

  May 1547 Thomas Seymour marries Katherine Parr

  June 1548 Jane travels to Sudeley Castle

  30 August 1548 Katherine Parr gives birth to a daughter at Sudeley

  5 September 1548 Katherine Parr dies

  7 September 1548 Jane is Chief Mourner at Katherine’s funeral

  Mid-September 1548 Jane travels home to Bradgate Park

  October 1548 Jane returns to Seymour Place

  17 January 1549 Thomas Seymour is arrested

  21 January 1549 The Act of Uniformity is passed in Parliament

  20 March 1549 Thomas Seymour is executed

  11 October 1549 Lord Protector Somerset is arrested

  November 1549 Jane visits the Lady Mary at Beaulieu

  December 1549–January 1550 Jane celebrates Christmas with her family at Tilty

  June 1550 Roger Ascham visits Bradgate Park

  11 October 1551 Henry Grey is created Duke of Suffolk

  November 1551 Jane joins the welcome party for Marie de Guise

  22 January 1552 Lord Protector Somerset is executed

  25 May 1553 Jane is married to Guildford Dudley

  June 1553 ‘My Devise for the Succession’ is signed

  6 July 1553 Edward VI dies and Lady Jane Grey becomes queen

  10 July 1553 Jane is openly proclaimed Queen of England

  19 July 1553 Jane is deposed and Mary is proclaimed queen

  18 August 1553 Mary I makes a proclamation about religion

  22 August 1553 The Duke of Northumberland is executed

  5 October 1553 The Act of Repeal is passed in Parliament

  13 November 1553 Jane is tried and condemned at Guildhall

  January 1554 Negotiations for Mary’s marriage are concluded

  February 1554 The Wyatt Rebellion ends in failure

  12 February 1554 Jane and Guildford are executed

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  I HAVE SPENT many an hour strenuously transcribing material for this book, and have taken great pleasure in reading the delightful sixteenth-century hands in which it appear
s. For the sake of clarity and continuity, however, I have chosen to modernize all of the spelling and punctuation from the books and documents I have consulted, in order to allow the narrative to flow more easily for the reader.

  On the occasions that I have referred to money, readers will notice that I have stated the contemporary amount followed by the modern-day equivalent in parentheses. All conversions were done according to the National Archives Currency Convertor (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency), and are approximate values. Please also be aware that they may be subject to change.

  During the period in which this book is set, the Julian calendar was in use in England, under which the year turned on 25 March. For clarity, however, the Gregorian calendar that remains in use today, and under which the year turns on 1 January, has been used instead. Interestingly, despite the dominance of the Julian calendar, the annual celebration of New Year, which was one of the great occasions for festivities during the Tudor year, also fell on 1 January.

  INTRODUCTION

  MEMORIES OF LADY Jane Grey conjure up a life of sadness and injustice: a young lady sacrificed through the actions of ambitious power-players in the complex world of sixteenth-century politics. And there is no doubt that Jane was a victim, but that is only part of the story. Jane was, in fact, a spirited girl who demonstrated character, passion, talent and strength, and deserves to be remembered as such. She was precocious and intelligent, and could also be wilful on occasion, with an acute sense of her own abilities. Jane was also incredibly pious, and her Protestant zeal developed to the point of fanaticism. Moreover, it is certainly possible to argue that she had many of the ingredients necessary in a successful monarch. During her short term as queen, she demonstrated that she was capable of making strategic decisions and of asserting her authority – from the day of her proclamation on 10 July 1553, she showed that she had ample potential to wield the power behind the crown before it was snatched away from her with alarming speed. Furthermore, her numerous other admirable qualities that were showcased throughout the course of her short life support this: she had dignity, integrity and displayed bravery by defending herself against powerful men in an age when women were expected to be wholly obedient. While Jane was undoubtedly used and forced into a queenship she did not want, such qualities reveal that she had strength of character and will, and was capable of asserting them, often to the surprise and disturbance of those who sought to wield power through her. There are those who would argue that, having reigned for so brief a period and having never been crowned, Jane should not be classified as a monarch, but I would dispute this. To those who do acknowledge her as such, Jane is often referred to as ‘the Nine Days Queen’, but this too is incorrect. She was, albeit for a short time, acknowledged as queen by the Council of the realm through the machinations of Edward VI from the moment of his death on 6 July. As the contemporary martyrologist John Foxe later remembered, ‘When King Edward was dead, this Jane was established in the kingdom by the Nobles consent.’1 The news that Jane was queen, however, was not made public until 10 July, when she was conducted to the Tower of London and a proclamation was issued in her name, supported by the lords of the Council, which is where the ‘Nine Days’ comes from. Once again, Foxe remarked that Jane was ‘published Queen by proclamation at London, and in other Cities where was any great resort, and was there so taken and named’.2 Jane was made queen and proclaimed queen, and the fact that she was referred to as such by many of her contemporaries is perhaps the most revealing evidence that this was indeed how she was regarded. For thirteen days, therefore, Jane was Queen of England, but only nine of these days were conducted openly with public knowledge of Jane’s exalted status. In the immediate aftermath of Edward’s death, Jane was given four days to prepare herself for the challenge that lay ahead, a task that she faced with dignity. It is true that Jane was not crowned, but neither were Edward V and Edward VIII, and Jane certainly deserves recognition on a par with both. Therefore, in writing Jane’s story, I do so very much with the belief that she was, and should be remembered as, Queen Jane.

  The sources for Jane’s life are scant, and at times are absent altogether. For example, none of her contemporaries remarked on the precise date or place of her birth, and neither do we know anything of her childhood with certainty. By the same token, none of Jane’s contemporaries left a description of her physical appearance – the account accredited to the Genoese merchant Battista Spinola, in which she was described as being ‘very short and thin, but prettily shaped and graceful’, has been proven to be fraudulent.3 Unsurprisingly, most of the surviving sources relate to the events of 1553, and for that reason they vary in terms of their quality and reliability. One of the most important and indeed detailed accounts is The Chronicle of Queen Jane, a contemporary narrative of the events of 1553 and 1554 that was first published in the nineteenth century. Some of the pages of the manuscript are sadly missing, but it is nevertheless comprehensive. Although the author left no name and has never been conclusively identified, he is generally believed to have been one Rowland Lea, a gentleman who worked in the royal mint at the Tower of London, and probably resided there too.4 Lea was evidently a man of some standing, for not only did he have access to the Tower but, much to his surprise, on one occasion he dined with Jane herself during her imprisonment. Lea’s position ensured that he was well placed to report on the events of which he wrote, and also explains why his narrative often provides details that other accounts lack.

  The Tudor antiquarian John Stow also consulted Lea’s manuscript, and often quoted heavily from it in his A Summarie of the Chronicles of England, an account of the history of England. It is possible that some of his insights also come from parts of Lea’s manuscript that are no longer extant, in which case his account should also be taken seriously. Although Stow had a thorough knowledge of London, and in 1598 published his most famous work, A Survey of London, his interest was not specifically in Jane, and his account repeated much of what was recorded elsewhere. He was also a Merchant Taylor, and he may have even met Jane, for on one occasion he reported visiting her parents’ home at Sheen, the Charterhouse.

  Someone who had an advantage over many of his contemporaries was her Italian tutor, Michelangelo Florio. He had a personal relationship with Jane, and was therefore well placed to know the truth of matters. Florio was an Italian Franciscan who later became a leading Protestant and spent time preaching in several cities in the country of his birth. This led to his arrest and imprisonment in Rome in 1548. Managing to escape in 1550, he eventually made his way to England, where he came under the protection of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and Sir William Cecil. He began preaching in London, a career that was destined to fail. However, he soon found favour with Jane’s father, and took up a post as Italian tutor to Jane. Florio was an eyewitness to the events about which he wrote, and was naturally sympathetic to Jane. His narrative, the first biography of Jane’s life, is often corroborated by other sources, however, and his placement in the Grey household meant that he had close and regular access to Jane and her family. The accession of Mary I forced Florio into exile abroad, and it was in Strasbourg that he wrote his account in 1561. It was not published until 1607, after his death, for which reason some historians have questioned its reliability. Florio is, however, a crucial source, and one who cannot be overlooked.

  In 1563 the martyrologist John Foxe published the first edition of his Acts and Monuments, better known as The Book of Martyrs. This work was an account of the persecution of Protestants under the Catholic Church during the sixteenth century, all of whom were Foxe’s contemporaries. Jane was one of its main characters, cast in the light of Foxe’s sympathies as a martyr to the Protestant faith. For this reason and that some of his descriptions of events have been proven to be inaccurate, Foxe must be approached with some caution. But many of his accounts have been corroborated by other sources and he also had access to many of the people who had known Jane – in 1550, for example, he was staying with her step-gr
andmother, Katherine Willoughby – and so his work remains important and illuminating.

  Some of the interesting details of the period come from the Imperial ambassadors, the representatives of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who resided in England. Although they were supporters of Mary I, they, again, had close access to many of those who were involved in Jane’s story, and often heard about events at first-hand. Besides that, their job was to report on the events they witnessed as well as the state of affairs in England, and thus they were, for the most part, remarkably accurate and comprehensive. Nonetheless, on occasion they were known to add the odd salacious detail which highlighted the pleasure they sometimes took in the gossip that came to their ears.

  There are other Catholic sources that report on Jane’s life, one of which comes from the papal envoy, Giovanni Commendone. Commendone produced his version of events, The Accession, Coronation and Marriage of Mary Tudor, based on what he saw when he arrived in England on 8 August 1553, shortly after Jane’s deposition. He had arrived in England at the behest of Pope Julius III in order to discuss Queen Mary’s hopes to return the realm to Catholicism. His sojourn in the country was only of short duration, for he was back in Rome the following month, but during that time he did make strident efforts to try to obtain material for his narrative. It is unclear precisely where Commendone’s information came from, but it can often be corroborated, and his account probably also formed the basis of the later L’Historia Ecclesiastica della Rivoluzion d’Inghilterra, published by Fra Girolamo Pollini in 1594.

  Another Catholic source comes in the form of the Vita Mariae Angliae Reginae, a chronicle composed by Robert Wingfield. Wingfield was a supporter of Mary I, and even played host to her in East Anglia during the summer of 1553. The strong Catholic bias in Wingfield’s narrative is evident, and following the death of Edward VI he described Mary as ‘the most sacred Princess Mary, the next, true and undoubted heir to the kingdom’.5 In spite of this, Wingfield was also closely connected to Jane’s family, and he was indeed sympathetic to them. He was the son and heir of Sir Humphrey Wingfield of Brantham, a cousin of Jane’s maternal grandfather, Charles Brandon. Sir Humphrey even resided in Brandon’s household during the childhood of Jane’s mother, Frances. Thus the two would have known one another, and Frances in turn would have come to know Robert. Although Robert was in a good position to know of the events of which he wrote, he was not inside the Tower as Rowland Lea was. Some of the details in his account are wrong, and it is evident that he viewed the Duke of Northumberland as the villain of the piece. It is possible that he obtained some of his version of events from Frances, whose will he later witnessed.