Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland
Encyclopedia
Jane Dudley Duchess of Northumberland (1508/1509 – 1555) was an English noblewoman, the wife of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
and mother of Guildford Dudley and Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
. Having grown up with her future husband, who was her father's ward
, she married at about age 16. They had 13 children. Jane Dudley served as a lady-in-waiting
at the court of Henry VIII and was a close friend of Queen Catherine Parr. Reformed
in religious outlook, she was also a supporter of the Protestant martyr Anne Askew
.
Under the young King Edward VI John Dudley became one of the most powerful politicians, rising to be Earl of Warwick
and later Duke of Northumberland
. After the fall of Lord Protector Somerset
in 1549, Jane Dudley joined forces with his wife to promote his rehabilitation and a reconciliation between their families, which was symbolized by a marriage between their children. In the spring of 1553 Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland became the mother-in-law of Lady Jane Grey
, whom the Duke of Northumberland unsuccessfully tried to establish on the English throne after the death of Edward VI. Mary I
being victorious, the Duchess sought frantically to save her husband's life. Notwithstanding his and her son Guildford's executions, she was successful in achieving the release of the rest of her family by befriending the Spanish noblemen who came to England with Philip of Spain
. She died soon afterwards, aged 46.
as the only daughter of Sir Edward Guildford
and his wife Eleanor West, daughter of Thomas West, 8th Baron De La Warr
. Her schooling occurred at home together with her brother Richard and her future husband, who was her father's ward
from 1512. In 1525, at about 16, she married Sir John Dudley
, who was 20 or 21 years old. The match had been arranged by their parents some years before. By 1528 Jane Dudley had given birth to three sons. She was to have ten more children until 1547, when the last was born. In most cases it is impossible to establish their birthdates exactly. An exception is Robert
, the future favourite
of Elizabeth I; he was born in 1532 as the fifth son, and possibly after the eldest daughter Mary
, who became the mother of the courtier-poet Philip Sidney
. The family life of John and Jane Dudley seems to have been happy and was free from any scandals; around 1535 a poem praised the "love and devotion" of their marriage.
Sir Edward Guildford died in 1534 before he could draw up his last will. Since his son Richard had predeceased him, Guildford's nephew, John Guildford
, claimed the inheritance. The Dudleys maintained that Guildford's daughter Jane was the natural heir. They finally won the resulting court case with the assistance of Thomas Cromwell.
to Anne Boleyn
, and later to Anne of Cleves
. She was interested in the Reformed religion
and, with her husband, moved in evangelical circles from the mid-1530s. In 1542 John Dudley was created Viscount Lisle
. He was on friendly terms with William Parr
, whose sister Catherine
became Henry VIII's last queen in July 1543. As one of her closest friends, the Viscountess Lisle was among the four ladies leading her to the altar on the marriage day. Jane Dudley belonged also to the courtly sympathizers of Anne Askew
, whom she contacted during her imprisonment in 1545–1546. The forthright Protestant was burnt at the stake as a heretic
in July 1546 on the contrivance of the religiously conservative court party around Bishop Stephen Gardiner
.
Renaissance humanism and science
figured large in the Dudley children's education. In 1553 Jane Dudley herself commissioned two works from the mathematician and Hermeticist John Dee
about heavenly configurations and the tides. Jane Dudley was close to her children; her eldest son, Henry, had died during the siege of Boulogne in 1544, aged 19. A postscript she wrote in 1552 under a letter by her husband to their then eldest son, John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick
, reads: . She also had health problems: In 1548 her husband was unwilling to leave her side, because she "had had her fit again more extreme that she had any time yet."
Under Edward VI John Dudley, Viscount Lisle was raised to the title of Earl of Warwick
, while Edward Seymour, Earl of Hereford
became Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector
. In October 1549 the Protector lost his power in a trial of strength with the Privy Council
, from which John Dudley, Earl of Warwick emerged as Lord President of the Council
and leader of the government. Somerset, who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London
, was soon allowed to rejoin the Council. Before his release, the Duchess of Somerset
and the Countess of Warwick had arranged daily banquets in order to reconcile their husbands. A marriage between their respective eldest son and daughter, Anne Seymour
and John Dudley, was equally promoted by the two ladies. In June 1550 a grand wedding was staged at the palace of Sheen
, attended by the twelve-year-old King Edward. Jane Dudley continued as a great lady at court during the ascendancy of her husband, who became Duke of Northumberland
in October 1551. She was influential with him; the financier Thomas Gresham
and the diplomat Richard Morrison
sought her patronage, and she also interceded for Mary Tudor
, who had stood godmother to one of her daughters in 1545.
, overturning the claims of his half-sisters Mary
and Elizabeth. Jane Grey was the daughter of Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk, a niece of Henry VIII
by his younger sister Mary. Around 21 May 1553 three matrimonial alliances were celebrated at Durham Place, the Dudleys' London
town mansion. Two of their younger children were concerned: Guildford, aged about 17, married Lady Jane Grey, while Katherine
, who was between eight and ten years old, was promised to the Earl of Huntingdon
's heir, Henry Hastings
. A few months later these matches came to be seen as proof of a conspiracy by the Duke of Northumberland to bring his family to the throne. At the time the marriages took place, however, their dynastical implications were not considered significant by even the most suspicious of observers, the Imperial
ambassador Jehan de Scheyfye. Modern historians have considered them either as part of a plot, or as "routine actions of dynastic politics", in the words of David Loades
. The initiative for the matches had probably come from the Marchioness of Northampton.
After Edward's death on 6 July 1553 Northumberland undertook the enforcement of the King's will. Lady Jane Grey accepted the Crown only after remonstrances by her parents and parents-in-law. On 10 July the Duchess of Northumberland accompanied her son and daughter-in-law on their ceremonial entry into the Tower of London
, where they were to reside for the rest of the short reign. According to Jane's own exculpatory letter to Queen Mary a few months later, Guildford now wanted to be made king. The young people agreed on having him declared king by Act of Parliament
; but then Jane changed her mind and declared she would only make him a duke. "I will not be a duke, I will be King", Guildford replied and went to fetch his mother. Furious, the Duchess took the side of her son, before she told him to leave the Tower and go home. Jane, however, insisted that he remain at court. According to her the Duchess also "induced her son not to sleep with me any more", and it is clear from her writings that Jane disliked her mother-in-law.
and demanded to be recognized as queen by the Privy Council in London. When her letter arrived on 10 July 1553 during dinner, the Duchess of Suffolk, Jane's mother, and the Duchess of Northumberland broke into tears. Mary was gathering strength, and on 14 July the Duke marched to Cambridge
with troops to capture her. As it came, he passed a tranquil week until he heard on 20 July that the Council in London had declared for Mary. On the orders of the Privy Council Northumberland himself now proclaimed Queen Mary at the market-place and awaited his arrest. His wife was still in the Tower, but was soon released. She tried to intercede personally for her imprisoned husband and five sons with Mary, who was staying outside London
. However, five miles before reaching the court the Duchess was turned away on the Queen's orders. She then wrote a letter to her friend Lady Paget, the wife of William, Lord Paget
, asking her to plead with the Queen's ladies, Gertrude Courtenay, Marchioness of Exeter and Susan Clarencius
:
Her plea, if it went not unheard, was in vain, and the Duke of Northumberland was executed on 22 August 1553 on Tower Hill
after having recanted his Protestant faith. Following Wyatt's rebellion
, Guildford Dudley was beheaded on 12 February 1554 shortly before his wife. Knowing the Queen's character, in June 1554 Jane Dudley pleaded with the authorities to allow her remaining sons to hear mass. During 1554 the Duchess and her son-in-law Henry Sidney
worked hard pleading with the Spanish nobles around England's new king consort
, Philip of Spain
. Lord Paget may also have proved helpful, and Henry Sidney even travelled to Spain in their cause. In the autumn of 1554 the Dudley brothers were released from the Tower, though the eldest, John, died immediately afterwards at Sidney's house Penshurst
in Kent. At the same location Philip Sidney
was born on 30 November 1554. His godmother was his grandmother Jane Dudley, while his godfather was Philip of Spain.
Amid the confiscation of the Dudley family's possessions in July 1553, Mary had allowed Jane Dudley to retain her wardrobe and plate, carpets, and other household stuffs, as well as the use of the Duke's house in Chelsea, London
. There the Duchess died in January 1555. In her will she tried to provide for her sons financially and thanked the Queen, as well as the many Spanish nobles she had lobbied. The Duchess of Alba was to receive her green parrot; to Don Diego de Acevedo she gave "the new bed of green velvet with all the furniture to it; beseeching him even as he hath in my lifetime showed himself like a father and a brother to my sons, so shall [I] require him no less to do now their mother is gone". She also remembered "my lord, my dear husband", and stipulated: "in no wise let me be opened after I am dead. ... I have not lived to be very bold before women, much more I should be loth to come into the hands of any living man, be he Physician or Surgeon." She avoided to be specific on religion, but stressed that "who ever doth trust to this transitory world, as I did, may happen to have an overthrow, as I had; therefore to the worms will I go as I have before written."
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
and mother of Guildford Dudley and Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
. Having grown up with her future husband, who was her father's ward
Ward (law)
In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. A court may take responsibility for the legal protection of an individual, usually either a child or incapacitated person, in which case the ward is known as a ward of the court, or a ward of the state, in the United States,...
, she married at about age 16. They had 13 children. Jane Dudley served as a lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
at the court of Henry VIII and was a close friend of Queen Catherine Parr. Reformed
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
in religious outlook, she was also a supporter of the Protestant martyr Anne Askew
Anne Askew
Anne Askew was an English poet and Protestant who was condemned as a heretic...
.
Under the young King Edward VI John Dudley became one of the most powerful politicians, rising to be Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...
and later Duke of Northumberland
Duke of Northumberland
The Duke of Northumberland is a title in the peerage of Great Britain that has been created several times. Since the third creation in 1766, the title has belonged to the House of Percy , which held the title of Earl of Northumberland from 1377....
. After the fall of Lord Protector Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
in 1549, Jane Dudley joined forces with his wife to promote his rehabilitation and a reconciliation between their families, which was symbolized by a marriage between their children. In the spring of 1553 Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland became the mother-in-law of Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
, whom the Duke of Northumberland unsuccessfully tried to establish on the English throne after the death of Edward VI. Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
being victorious, the Duchess sought frantically to save her husband's life. Notwithstanding his and her son Guildford's executions, she was successful in achieving the release of the rest of her family by befriending the Spanish noblemen who came to England with Philip of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
. She died soon afterwards, aged 46.
Family and marriage
Jane Guildford was born in 1508 or early 1509 in KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
as the only daughter of Sir Edward Guildford
Edward Guilford
Sir Edward Guildford was an English courtier and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Marshal of Calais in 1519.-Family:...
and his wife Eleanor West, daughter of Thomas West, 8th Baron De La Warr
Thomas West, 8th Baron De La Warr
Thomas West, 8th Baron De La Warr and 5th Baron West, KB, KG was the oldest son of Richard West, 7th Baron De La Warr and 4th Baron of West and Catherine Hungerford.Thomas succeeded to his titles at the age of 19...
. Her schooling occurred at home together with her brother Richard and her future husband, who was her father's ward
Ward (law)
In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. A court may take responsibility for the legal protection of an individual, usually either a child or incapacitated person, in which case the ward is known as a ward of the court, or a ward of the state, in the United States,...
from 1512. In 1525, at about 16, she married Sir John Dudley
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
, who was 20 or 21 years old. The match had been arranged by their parents some years before. By 1528 Jane Dudley had given birth to three sons. She was to have ten more children until 1547, when the last was born. In most cases it is impossible to establish their birthdates exactly. An exception is Robert
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
, the future favourite
Favourite
A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
of Elizabeth I; he was born in 1532 as the fifth son, and possibly after the eldest daughter Mary
Mary Dudley, Lady Sidney
Mary Sidney , Lady Sidney was an English lady-in-waiting at the court of Elizabeth I, and the mother of the courtier and poet Sir Philip Sidney...
, who became the mother of the courtier-poet Philip Sidney
Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age...
. The family life of John and Jane Dudley seems to have been happy and was free from any scandals; around 1535 a poem praised the "love and devotion" of their marriage.
Sir Edward Guildford died in 1534 before he could draw up his last will. Since his son Richard had predeceased him, Guildford's nephew, John Guildford
John Guilford
Sir John Guildford was an English Member of Parliament for Gatton, New Romney and Kent and was appointed Sheriff of Kent in 1552.-Life:...
, claimed the inheritance. The Dudleys maintained that Guildford's daughter Jane was the natural heir. They finally won the resulting court case with the assistance of Thomas Cromwell.
Court life
Jane Dudley served as a lady-in-waitingLady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
, and later to Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...
. She was interested in the Reformed religion
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
and, with her husband, moved in evangelical circles from the mid-1530s. In 1542 John Dudley was created Viscount Lisle
Viscount Lisle
The title of Viscount Lisle has been created six times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, on 30 October 1451, was for John Talbot, 1st Baron Lisle. Upon the death of his son Thomas at the Battle of Nibley Green in 1470, the viscountcy became extinct and the barony abeyant.In 1475, the...
. He was on friendly terms with William Parr
William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton
William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, 1st Earl of Essex and 1st Baron Parr, KG was the son of Sir Thomas Parr and his wife, Maud Green, daughter of Sir Thomas Green, of Broughton and Greens Norton...
, whose sister Catherine
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
became Henry VIII's last queen in July 1543. As one of her closest friends, the Viscountess Lisle was among the four ladies leading her to the altar on the marriage day. Jane Dudley belonged also to the courtly sympathizers of Anne Askew
Anne Askew
Anne Askew was an English poet and Protestant who was condemned as a heretic...
, whom she contacted during her imprisonment in 1545–1546. The forthright Protestant was burnt at the stake as a heretic
Christian heresy
Christian heresy refers to non-orthodox practices and beliefs that were deemed to be heretical by one or more of the Christian churches. In Western Christianity, the term "heresy" most commonly refers to those beliefs which were declared to be anathema by the Catholic Church prior to the schism of...
in July 1546 on the contrivance of the religiously conservative court party around Bishop Stephen Gardiner
Stephen Gardiner
Stephen Gardiner was an English Roman Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I of England.-Early life:...
.
Renaissance humanism and science
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
figured large in the Dudley children's education. In 1553 Jane Dudley herself commissioned two works from the mathematician and Hermeticist John Dee
John Dee
John Dee was a Welsh mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I.John Dee may also refer to:* John Dee , Basketball coach...
about heavenly configurations and the tides. Jane Dudley was close to her children; her eldest son, Henry, had died during the siege of Boulogne in 1544, aged 19. A postscript she wrote in 1552 under a letter by her husband to their then eldest son, John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick
John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick
John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick, KG, KB was an English nobleman and the heir of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, leading minister and de facto ruler under Edward VI of England from 1550–1553. As his father's career progressed, John Dudley respectively assumed his father's former...
, reads: . She also had health problems: In 1548 her husband was unwilling to leave her side, because she "had had her fit again more extreme that she had any time yet."
Under Edward VI John Dudley, Viscount Lisle was raised to the title of Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...
, while Edward Seymour, Earl of Hereford
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
became Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector
Lord Protector
Lord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
. In October 1549 the Protector lost his power in a trial of strength with the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
, from which John Dudley, Earl of Warwick emerged as Lord President of the Council
Lord President of the Council
The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval...
and leader of the government. Somerset, who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, was soon allowed to rejoin the Council. Before his release, the Duchess of Somerset
Anne Stanhope
Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset was the second wife of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, who held the office of Lord Protector during the first part of the reign of his nephew King Edward VI, through whom Anne was briefly the most powerful woman in England...
and the Countess of Warwick had arranged daily banquets in order to reconcile their husbands. A marriage between their respective eldest son and daughter, Anne Seymour
Anne Dudley, Countess of Warwick
Anne Dudley Countess of Warwick was a writer during the sixteenth century in England, along with her sisters Lady Margaret Seymour and Lady Jane Seymour....
and John Dudley, was equally promoted by the two ladies. In June 1550 a grand wedding was staged at the palace of Sheen
Palace of Placentia
The Palace of Placentia was an English Royal Palace built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in 1447, in Greenwich, on the banks of the River Thames, downstream from London...
, attended by the twelve-year-old King Edward. Jane Dudley continued as a great lady at court during the ascendancy of her husband, who became Duke of Northumberland
Duke of Northumberland
The Duke of Northumberland is a title in the peerage of Great Britain that has been created several times. Since the third creation in 1766, the title has belonged to the House of Percy , which held the title of Earl of Northumberland from 1377....
in October 1551. She was influential with him; the financier Thomas Gresham
Thomas Gresham
Sir Thomas Gresham was an English merchant and financier who worked for King Edward VI of England and for Edward's half-sisters, Queens Mary I and Elizabeth I.-Family and childhood:...
and the diplomat Richard Morrison
Richard Morrison (ambassador)
Sir Richard Morrison was an English humanist scholar and diplomat. He was a protégé of Thomas Cromwell, propagandist for Henry VIII, and then ambassador to the German court of Charles V for Edward VI.-Life:...
sought her patronage, and she also interceded for Mary Tudor
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, who had stood godmother to one of her daughters in 1545.
Mother-in-law to a queen
King Edward fell ill in early 1553. He drew up a document, "My Devise for the Succession", whose final version of June 1553 was to settle the Crown on his Protestant cousin Lady Jane GreyLady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
, overturning the claims of his half-sisters Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
and Elizabeth. Jane Grey was the daughter of Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk, a niece of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
by his younger sister Mary. Around 21 May 1553 three matrimonial alliances were celebrated at Durham Place, the Dudleys' London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
town mansion. Two of their younger children were concerned: Guildford, aged about 17, married Lady Jane Grey, while Katherine
Katherine Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon
Katherine Hastings , Countess of Huntingdon was an English noblewoman. She was the youngest surviving daughter of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland and his wife Jane Guildford, and a sister of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Elizabeth I's favourite...
, who was between eight and ten years old, was promised to the Earl of Huntingdon
Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon
Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon, KG was the eldest son of George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon and Anne Stafford, Countess of Huntingdon, the ex-mistress of Henry VIII....
's heir, Henry Hastings
Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon
Sir Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, KG KB was the eldest son of Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole.-Ancestry:...
. A few months later these matches came to be seen as proof of a conspiracy by the Duke of Northumberland to bring his family to the throne. At the time the marriages took place, however, their dynastical implications were not considered significant by even the most suspicious of observers, the Imperial
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
ambassador Jehan de Scheyfye. Modern historians have considered them either as part of a plot, or as "routine actions of dynastic politics", in the words of David Loades
David Loades
David Michael Loades, FSA is a British historian and an expert on the Tudor era. He is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Wales, where he taught from 1980 until 1996, and was Honorary Research Professor at the University of Sheffield from 1996 until 2008. In the 1960s an1970s he...
. The initiative for the matches had probably come from the Marchioness of Northampton.
After Edward's death on 6 July 1553 Northumberland undertook the enforcement of the King's will. Lady Jane Grey accepted the Crown only after remonstrances by her parents and parents-in-law. On 10 July the Duchess of Northumberland accompanied her son and daughter-in-law on their ceremonial entry into the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, where they were to reside for the rest of the short reign. According to Jane's own exculpatory letter to Queen Mary a few months later, Guildford now wanted to be made king. The young people agreed on having him declared king by Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
; but then Jane changed her mind and declared she would only make him a duke. "I will not be a duke, I will be King", Guildford replied and went to fetch his mother. Furious, the Duchess took the side of her son, before she told him to leave the Tower and go home. Jane, however, insisted that he remain at court. According to her the Duchess also "induced her son not to sleep with me any more", and it is clear from her writings that Jane disliked her mother-in-law.
Downfall and struggle for her family
To claim her right, Mary Tudor began assembling her supporters in East AngliaEast Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
and demanded to be recognized as queen by the Privy Council in London. When her letter arrived on 10 July 1553 during dinner, the Duchess of Suffolk, Jane's mother, and the Duchess of Northumberland broke into tears. Mary was gathering strength, and on 14 July the Duke marched to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
with troops to capture her. As it came, he passed a tranquil week until he heard on 20 July that the Council in London had declared for Mary. On the orders of the Privy Council Northumberland himself now proclaimed Queen Mary at the market-place and awaited his arrest. His wife was still in the Tower, but was soon released. She tried to intercede personally for her imprisoned husband and five sons with Mary, who was staying outside London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. However, five miles before reaching the court the Duchess was turned away on the Queen's orders. She then wrote a letter to her friend Lady Paget, the wife of William, Lord Paget
William Paget, 1st Baron Paget
William Paget, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesert , was an English statesman and accountant who held prominent positions in the service of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I.-Early life:...
, asking her to plead with the Queen's ladies, Gertrude Courtenay, Marchioness of Exeter and Susan Clarencius
Susan Clarencieux
Susan Clarencieux was a favourite lady in waiting and longtime friend to Mary I of England, daughter of King Henry VIII.She was born Susan White, the daughter of Richard White of Hutton, Essex and Lady Margaret Strelley...
:
Now good madam, for the love you bear to God forget me not: and make my Lady Marquess of Exeter ... to remember me, to Mistress Clarencius to continue as she hath begun for me ... in speaking for my husband's life. ... I have held up my head for my great heaviness of heart that all the world knows cannot be little: till now that indeed I do begin to grow into weak sickness, and also such a rising the night from my stomach uptoward that in my judgment my breath is like clean to go away, as my women well can full say it as they know it to be true by their own pain they take me. Good madam, of goodness remember me. So God to keep you[r] ladyship long life ... your ladyship's poorest friend Jane Northumberland as long as please the queen & good madam desire my lord [Lord Paget] to be good lord unto my poor five sons: nature can no otherwise do but sue for them although I do not so much care for them as for their father who was to me & to my mind the most best gentleman that ever living woman was matched [with]all: as neither those about him nor about me cannot say the contrary & say truly: how good he was to me that our lord & the queen's majesty show their mercy to them.
Her plea, if it went not unheard, was in vain, and the Duke of Northumberland was executed on 22 August 1553 on Tower Hill
Tower Hill
Tower Hill is an elevated spot northwest of the Tower of London, just outside the limits of the City of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formerly it was part of the Tower Liberty under the direct administrative control of Tower...
after having recanted his Protestant faith. Following Wyatt's rebellion
Wyatt's rebellion
Wyatt's Rebellion was a popular uprising in England in 1554, named after Thomas Wyatt the younger, one of its leaders. The rebellion arose out of concern over Queen Mary I's determination to marry Philip II of Spain, which was an unpopular policy with the English...
, Guildford Dudley was beheaded on 12 February 1554 shortly before his wife. Knowing the Queen's character, in June 1554 Jane Dudley pleaded with the authorities to allow her remaining sons to hear mass. During 1554 the Duchess and her son-in-law Henry Sidney
Henry Sidney
Sir Henry Sidney , Lord Deputy of Ireland was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he received extensive grants of land, including the manor of Penshurst in Kent, which became the...
worked hard pleading with the Spanish nobles around England's new king consort
King consort
King consort is an alternative title to the more usual "prince consort" - which is a position given in some monarchies to the husband of a reigning queen. It is a symbolic title only, the sole constitutional function of the holder being similar to a prince consort, which is the male equivalent of a...
, Philip of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
. Lord Paget may also have proved helpful, and Henry Sidney even travelled to Spain in their cause. In the autumn of 1554 the Dudley brothers were released from the Tower, though the eldest, John, died immediately afterwards at Sidney's house Penshurst
Penshurst
Penshurst is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The parish is located on the northern slopes of the Weald, west of Tonbridge. Within the parish boundaries are the two villages of Penshurst and Fordcombe, with a combined population of some 1,479 persons. The...
in Kent. At the same location Philip Sidney
Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age...
was born on 30 November 1554. His godmother was his grandmother Jane Dudley, while his godfather was Philip of Spain.
Amid the confiscation of the Dudley family's possessions in July 1553, Mary had allowed Jane Dudley to retain her wardrobe and plate, carpets, and other household stuffs, as well as the use of the Duke's house in Chelsea, London
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
. There the Duchess died in January 1555. In her will she tried to provide for her sons financially and thanked the Queen, as well as the many Spanish nobles she had lobbied. The Duchess of Alba was to receive her green parrot; to Don Diego de Acevedo she gave "the new bed of green velvet with all the furniture to it; beseeching him even as he hath in my lifetime showed himself like a father and a brother to my sons, so shall [I] require him no less to do now their mother is gone". She also remembered "my lord, my dear husband", and stipulated: "in no wise let me be opened after I am dead. ... I have not lived to be very bold before women, much more I should be loth to come into the hands of any living man, be he Physician or Surgeon." She avoided to be specific on religion, but stressed that "who ever doth trust to this transitory world, as I did, may happen to have an overthrow, as I had; therefore to the worms will I go as I have before written."