Review of 2016

The year started with a guest article by Stephan Edwards about Lady Jane’s prayer book. Also I finished the second article in my ‘Richard Davey’ series, looking at ‘Richard Davey and the Wedding of Lady Jane Grey. The paperback of Suzannah Dunn’s ‘The Lady of Misrule’ (in which Jane is a main character) was published this month.

February saw the 462nd anniversary of Jane’s execution and the 500th anniversary of the birth of Mary Tudor. I investigated the relationship between the two rival Queens in ‘Queen Mary and Lady Jane.’

‘John Dudley: The Life of Lady Jane Grey’s Father-in-Law’ by Christine Hartweg was published at the beginning of the month and Christine answered my questions in an interview.

In March I took part in two book blog tours. The first was to celebrate the UK publication of ‘On the Trail of the Yorks by Kristie Dean, for which Kristie wrote a guest post about the Tower of London.

The second was for ‘In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII by Sarah Morris and Natalie Grueninger.’ The authors wrote a guest article about Rye House (the main childhood home of Katherine Parr).

In April I finally got round to writing about two places relating to Lady Jane and the Tudors – Framlingham Castle and the Tower of London.

April also saw my visit to Sudeley Castle, once home of Lady Jane in the summer of 1548 and the location of her first public role.

I reached a certain birthday milestone this month and my wonderful family gave me a Lady Jane Grey rose, a birthday cake featuring Lady Jane and a stay at Hever Castle.

‘The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain’s Greatest Dynasty’ by Tracy Borman was published in May. You can read all about the private lives of the Tudors in my interview with Tracy.

I visited the V&A Museum and saw the Teerlinc miniature of Lady Katherine Grey.

Lady Jane was featured in an article in the June issue of History Today magazine. Alison Kinney investigates the myth of the executioner’s mask, in ‘Off with his Hood.’ Jane was also included in three books published this month. ‘The Tudor Brandons: Mary and Charles – Henry VIII’s Nearest & Dearest’ by Sarah-Beth Watkins was about Jane’s maternal grandparents. Sarah answered my questions in an interview.

Lady Jane was mentioned in Elizabeth Freemantle’s new work of historical fiction about Arbella Stuart. Elizabeth answered my questions about ‘The Girl in the Glass Tower.’ Thanks to Michael Joseph (Penguin Random House) five lucky UK readers won a copy of what The Times Saturday Review called their ‘Book of the Month.’

The paper back of ‘Henry VIII’s Last Love: The Extraordinary Life of Katherine Willoughby, Lady in Waiting to the Tudors’ by David Baldwin was also published. The book about Jane’s step-grandmother includes a chapter on the events of July 1553.

Lady Jane Grey was the Final Major project of Lauren Summers, Costumier and Dressmaker. Lauren recreated Jane’s dress from the ‘Lady Jayne’/Streatham portrait.

On 15th July, ‘The Lady Jane Grey’s Prayer Book: British Library Harley Manuscript 2342, Fully Illustrated and Transcribed’ by Stephan Edwards was published. Stephan answered my questions about this fascinating prayer book, which Jane wrote in and carried to her execution.

I also took part in the book blog tour to celebrate the UK publication of ‘Prince Arthur: The Tudor King Who Never Was’ by Sean Cunningham, for which Sean wrote a guest post about ‘Arthur and Catherine: Why a Five-Month Tudor Marriage Still Matters to British History.

The paperback of ‘The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor’ by Elizabeth Norton was also published this month.

In August I visited Montacute House in Somerset to see the Lady Jayne Streatham portrait. The portrait has been on display in Room 2 since the late spring of 2015. I added the current description of the portrait to A look at how the Streatham portrait has been displayed over the years…

Lady Jane featured in an article in issue 5 of History of Royals magazine. The article, ‘Conspiring against the Queen’ by Tom Garner, was an in depth look at the Wyatt rebellion of 1554. The defeat of which, led to the execution of Jane and Guildford.

‘The Birth of a Queen: Essays on the Quincentenary of Mary I’ edited by Sarah Duncan and Valerie Schutte, which featured Jane was published in September.

I also added ‘The Funeral of Queen Katherine Parr’ to Events by Place at Sudeley Castle.

‘Royal Renegades: The Children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars’ by Linda Porter was published in October. You can read about Catherine Grey’s grandson, who became governor to the Prince of Wales in 1641, in my interview with Linda.

Two books that mention Jane, ‘Game of Queens: The Women Who Made Sixteenth Century Europe’ by Sarah Gristwood and ‘The Lives of Tudor Women’ by Elizabeth Norton were also published this month.

I took part in the book blog tour for ‘The Lives of Tudor Women’ for which Elizabeth wrote a guest article about Tudor Women and Religion.

Our stay at Hever Castle in the Astor Wing took place in October. A welcome bonus was this portrait of Katherine Grey outside the breakfast room.

Lady Jane featured on the cover of BBC History Magazine, in an article by Nicola Tallis about the ‘Curse of the Nine Day Queen.’

Nicola Tallis’s new biography of Jane, ‘Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey’ was published on the 3rd November. Nicola answered my questions in an interview. Thanks to Michael O’Mara Books, one lucky UK winner won a copy of this fascinating new book. On publication day, Nicola was interviewed by BBC Radio Leicester. These are the main points from the interview.

In December, ‘Crown of Blood’ was published in the USA. Thanks to Pegasus Books, one lucky US winner won a copy.

The Tudor Society released an e-book about Lady Jane Grey as part of their Tudor Monarchs Books series. I was very pleased to see that my article about Jane’s death and burial (from the February 2015 issue of ‘Tudor Life Magazine’) has been included in the book.

Issue 9 of History of Royals magazine featured an interview with Nicola Tallis.

Books published in 2016 that featured Jane included: ‘The Lady Jane Grey’s Prayer Book: British Library Harley Manuscript 2342, Fully Illustrated and Transcribed’ by Stephan Edwards, ‘Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey’ by Nicola Tallis, ‘John Dudley: The Life of Lady Jane Grey’s Father-In-Law’ by Christine Hartweg, ‘The Girl in the Glass Tower’ by Elizabeth Freemantle, ‘The Tudor Brandons: Mary and Charles – Henry VIII’s Nearest & Dearest’ by Sarah-Beth Watkins, ‘The Birth of a Queen Essays on the Quincentenary of Mary I’ edited by Sarah Duncan and Valerie Schutte, ‘Game of Queens: The Women Who Made Sixteenth Century Europe’ by Sarah Gristwood, ‘The Lives of Tudor Women’ by Elizabeth Norton, ‘The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Hidden Secrets of Britain’s Greatest Dynasty’ by Tracy Borman, ‘Mary I: The Daughter of Time’ by John Edwards, ‘Lady Jane Grey’ by The Tudor Society, ‘Henry VIII’s Last Love: The Extraordinary Life of Katherine Willoughby, Lady in Waiting to the Tudors’ (paperback) by David Baldwin, ‘The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor’ by Elizabeth Norton, ‘The Lady of Misrule’ by Suzannah Dunn and ‘The Lost Tudor Princess: A Life of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox’ (paperback) by Alison Weir.