Cold Open

It’s October 7th, 1536, in Lincoln, one hundred fifty miles north of London, England.

A young boy laughs as he plays tag with his sister in the narrow streets. It’s market day, and the city is crowded with traders and customers haggling over prices.

The boy swerves to avoid a group of pigs being driven noisily along the street by a farmer. The man scowls as the boy leaps over the animals and dashes on after his sister. But the girl is faster than him and the boy has little chance of catching her - until she stops abruptly. The boy roughly tags her on the shoulder and yells in triumph, but the expression on his sister’s face tells him something is wrong.

He follows her gaze along the street. Ahead, a large group of armed men are marching through the gates of the city. But they’re not soldiers. Many of them carry simple clubs or pitchforks - these are ordinary people, farmers, tradesmen, and peasants.

The boy grabs his sister’s arm and pulls her to the side of the road as the group passes—there are hundreds of them, maybe even thousands. But rather than causing fear and panic, their arrival is cheered by the people of Lincoln. The boy looks around in confusion, but a bystander gives him a reassuring smile and tells him not to worry—the men aren’t here to fight. They’re here to protest. The only people who need to fear this ragtag army are the wicked advisers who persuaded the king to break with the Catholic Church.

Twenty years earlier, the English King, Henry VIII, quarreled with the Pope. The fallout led Henry to break with centuries of tradition. He rejected the authority of the Catholic Church and created a new Church of England in its place. This radical religious reformation left the people of England facing a dilemma—whether to embrace the new church as their King commands or stick with the old ways.

The people of Lincoln pick a side and the pro-Catholic uprising there will begin a rebellion across the North of England that will become known as the Pilgrimage of Grace. It will be ruthlessly suppressed by King Henry, and the rebellion's leader will eventually be executed. But they will not be the only casualties of the religious divisions in Tudor England. Even royalty will fall victim to this turmoil, and the 17-year-old queen will lose her life when she’s beheaded on February 12th, 1554.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is February 12th, 1554: The Execution of Lady Jane Grey.

Act One

It’s February 20th, 1547, in London, England, eleven years after the Pilgrimage of Grace.

Trumpets play as a grand procession exits Westminster Abbey. Cheering Londoners stretch their necks to catch a glimpse of the small boy draped in crimson robes at the heart of the parade. Nine-year-old Edward has just been crowned the new King of England.

Less than a month ago, Edward’s father, King Henry VIII, died after almost four decades on the throne. His reign saw tremendous religious upheaval in England. By the time of his death, the tensions between those aligned with the new Church of England and those who continued to follow the old Catholic faith had not been resolved. Henry’s son and heir, Edward, is committed to the new Church of England—but many fear that the boy-king won’t be able to mend the divisions that now plague the country.

The Londoners who line the streets to see the young king don’t get a great view. Security is tight. The young Edward walks through the streets surrounded by an entourage, and among them are the country’s most powerful noblemen. They will advise the boy and teach him how to run the country. Edward is so young that he cannot yet rule alone. So, a Lord Protector will govern England on the king’s behalf until he comes of age. But there are some noblemen marching in the city today who want to manipulate the king’s youth to gain a position of power for themselves. One of them is the ambitious nobleman John Dudley.

Two years into Edward’s reign, in 1549, Dudley engineers the downfall of Edward’s first Lord Protector on trumped-up charges of treason. Dudley of course steps into the vacant position himself, and immediately starts building his own powerbase. Soon, Dudley is the ruler of England in all but name.

But young King Edward is by no means powerless. He has strong views of his own - especially when it comes to religion. Edward has been raised a Protestant and hopes to steer the English further away from the Catholicism of the past. So, he approves sweeping changes in line with his beliefs: Catholic properties and land are confiscated, the worship of relics is banned, statues and stained glass are removed from churches, and a new English prayer book is introduced to be used in place of Catholic texts.

But these reforms come to a sudden halt in February 1553, when the fifteen-year-old king falls ill. A series of recoveries and relapses follow, but Edward’s condition steadily declines. And it soon becomes clear that the young king will not survive to adulthood. As a committed Christian, Edward does not fear his own death. But he does worry about what will happen to his kingdom after he’s gone because Edward is unmarried and childless. If Edward dies now, the next-in-line to the throne is his half-sister, Mary. But Mary is a staunch Catholic. If she becomes Queen, Edward fears that she will return England to Catholicism and undo all his reforms.

To avoid that, Edward declares that Mary is ineligible to succeed him. Although she is a daughter of King Henry VIII, Edward rules that Mary is illegitimate. In her place, Edward declares that his teenage cousin, the Protestant Lady Jane Grey, should take the throne.

Edward knows that his plan to reorder the succession is controversial since it appears to interfere with God’s divine plans for the English throne. But one man who supports Edward is his Lord Protector, John Dudley—not least because Dudley’s own son is married to Jane, the new heir to the throne. And if Jane becomes Queen, Dudley’s position will become even more powerful.

The documents confirming the new line of succession are signed and witnessed by over one hundred noblemen and senior members of the clergy. Many of them will later claim that they were bullied into signing by Dudley. But whatever the reason, the process is completed, and just in time. Two weeks later, on July 6th, 1553, King Edward dies. And four days after that, Lady Jane Grey arrives in London, and Dudley makes preparations for her coronation.

But the dead king’s recently disinherited sister, Mary, is not prepared to give up her claim. Before Jane’s coronation can take place, Mary raises an army to take the throne by force. Her rebellion wins rapid support. In the face of overwhelming public backing for Mary, more and more noblemen begin switching allegiance and declare that Mary is in fact the rightful queen.

The brief government of Queen Jane collapses. Even Dudley himself can see which way the wind is blowing. And as Mary approaches London to seize the throne with her army, he too desperately tries to change sides—but that isn’t enough to prevent his arrest after Mary arrives at the capital.

And Dudley will not be the only one facing an unhappy future. After a mere nine days on the English throne, Lady Jane Grey will also be placed under arrest. And to save her life, Jane will have to throw herself on the mercy of the woman who’s taken her place, the vengeful new queen, Mary.

Act Two

It’s November 13th, 1553, in London, four months after Lady Jane Grey’s nine-day reign as Queen of England.

Jane walks through the streets of the English capital. It’s the first time she’s been outside the Tower of London since she was deposed—but this is no leisurely stroll. Crowds of Londoners jeer, as Jane and her husband, Guildford Dudley, walk under armed guard toward their trial for treason. Jane knows that she might pay for her short reign as Queen of England with her life.

Three months ago, Guildford’s father, John Dudley, the most powerful man in England, was executed after being found guilty of treason. A few weeks after that, Guildford’s older brother was also beheaded. Now, Jane fears that she and her husband will be the next victims of Mary’s vengeance.

Jane and Guildford arrive at their trial after a one-mile trek through the streets of London. But the humiliating journey will not need to be made often, because the trial lasts only one day. A panel of noblemen hears the evidence against Jane and Guildford and quickly judge that the former queen and her husband are both guilty—and the punishment is death. Within only hours, the now condemned prisoners return to the Tower of London to await their fate.

But despite the quick ruling, Queen Mary is in no hurry to give the order to carry out the death sentence. She claims that her conscience will not allow her to carry out her cousin’s execution. But in reality, Mary probably fears setting a precedent by killing a deposed monarch, should she herself ever lose the throne. Whatever the reason for delaying their execution, Jane and Guildford settle into a nervous but quiet life in prison. Soon, Jane begins to wonder whether she might be allowed to live out the rest of her life in the Tower of London, out of the public gaze, and in relative peace. But that illusion is soon shattered.

After Mary secures the English throne, she reverses the religious reforms that her half-brother, King Edward VI, implemented. Just as Edward feared before his death, Mary returns England to the Catholic faith. Dozens of Protestant ministers are burned at the stake for their so-called heresy. But then Mary goes too far. In January 1554, Mary announces her marriage to a fellow Catholic, Prince Phillip, the heir to the Spanish throne. But Spain is a long-time adversary of England, and the prospect of a new alliance with Spain is deeply unpopular with the English people.

In response, a rebellion breaks out under the leadership of nobleman Sir Thomas Wyatt. He wants to raise an army, converge on London, overthrow Mary, and then restore the Protestant Church of England. Among the nobles who join Wyatt’s rebellion are Lady Jane Grey’s father and brothers, who believe a victory for the rebels offers the best prospect of freeing Jane from captivity.

And within a week of the rebellion's beginning, Wyatt’s army numbers 4,000 men and reaches London. But standing in their way are 20,000 Londoners who have volunteered to fight for Wyatt, so Wyatt gives up on his plan to march on the Tower and free Jane. He turns his men away from the capital, and then into an ambush, sprung by troops loyal to Mary. After a series of skirmishes, Wyatt is captured and joins the young Lady Grey as prisoner in the Tower of London.

But Wyatt and Jane’s time in captivity does not overlap for long. Jane’s father’s decision to join Wyatt’s uprising will have fatal ramifications for his daughter. The rebellion of the Grey family persuades Mary that Jane is too dangerous a figurehead to be just left in the Tower. Mary declares that Jane’s execution will now finally go ahead—although even at this late stage, she offers the young prisoner a chance to escape the executioner’s ax. If Jane and Guildford convert to Catholicism, Mary hints that she will commute their death sentence.

But Jane and Guildford are committed Protestants and would sooner die in their faith than live as Catholics. So, they will refuse Mary’s offer. And less than a week after the failure of Wyatt’s rebellion, their death sentences will be confirmed, and the short and tragic story of Lady Jane Grey will come to an end.

Act Three

It’s February 12th, 1554, in the Tower of London, six days after the capture of Sir Thomas Wyatt.

17-year-old Lady Jane Grey sits alone in her room, awaiting execution. She was supposed to have been beheaded three days ago, but Queen Mary’s personal chaplain insisted that he try yet again to convert Jane to Catholicism. He was unsuccessful.

And now Jane watches ruefully as a cart rumbles past her window carrying the body of her husband, Guildford Dudley, who’s just been beheaded. Jane knew that Guildford had also been handed down a death sentence, but that did not prepare her for the sight of her husband’s headless corpse rattling down the streets of London.

As a member of the royal family, Jane has been permitted a private execution within the grounds of the Tower of London. Soldiers come for her a short time later. They escort Jane out of her room onto Tower Green. She appears calm, passing her gloves and handkerchief to a maid. Knowing that the witnesses will carry her last words to Queen Mary, Jane accepts that the rebellion against the queen was unlawful, but professes her own innocence.

Then Jane’s nerves begin to fail. She asks the executioner whether he will behead her as she’s kneeling or lying down, and she begs him, however it's done, to kill her quickly. She ties on her own blindfold but then panics when she can’t find the wooden block on which she must lay her neck. One of the witnesses steps forward to guide her hands to the block, and Jane utters a prayer as she lies down. Then after only a few more seconds, the ax falls beheading Jane in one clean stroke.

Lady Jane Grey’s nine-day reign as Queen of England was the shortest in English history. The teenager fell victim to the religious upheaval of the times and to manipulation by ambitious nobles. Thanks to events beyond her control or desires, Jane rose from obscurity to the throne, but within months, went from the throne to her death on February 12th, 1554.

Outro

Next on History Daily. February 13th, 1920. The Negro National League is formed by a consortium of baseball team owners, creating the first successful Black baseball league.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Rob Scragg.

Edited by Scott Reeves.

Managing producer, Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.