2021 was the year that this website celebrated 20 years of news and information about the nine days queen! Also more importantly in the grand scheme of things, the Berry Hill Portrait was found!
The actual anniversary of this website was September but I ran 9 days of competitions throughout the year on key dates that related to Lady Jane.
Thanks to the generosity of the following historians and their publishers, Leanda de Lisle & Harper Press, Elizabeth Fremantle & Penguin, Nicola Tallis & Michael O’Mara, Alison Weir & Arrow and Philippa Gregory & Simon & Schuster, throughout the year the prizes were.
In January I listened to the online talk from HRP, ‘Myths of the Tower with Lucy Worsley, Ravenmaster Chris Skaife and Curator Jane Spooner.’ Jane got a brief mention as one of the 7 people to be executed privately within the Tower grounds and Jane Coopers’ favourite graffiti in the Beauchamp Tower is the names of the Dudley brothers.
Jane also got a brief mention in Matt Lewis’s talk about Richard III and the Princes in the Tower. The princes were the subject of Matt’s book, ‘The Survival of the Princes in the Tower’, which was published in 2017.
In March and April I looked back at my top Lady Jane experiences of the past 20 years.
Jane got a brief mention in Sarah Gristwood’s talk about Arbella Stuart, when Arbella tried to wed the grandson of Jane’s sister, Katherine.
In April, ‘The Titian Portrait’ by Derek Ansell, the first of a number of books that featured Jane was published.
The April edition of Tudor Life Magazine included Sarah-Beth Watkins’ article ‘An Envious Queen’ about what happened to Lady Jane’s sister, Katherine Grey when she married without the Queen’s permission.
The Lady Jayne/Streatham portrait went to Greenwich, when the ‘Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits’ Exhibition opened at the National Maritime Museum, in May.
I added the current description of the portrait to A look at how the Streatham portrait has been displayed over the years…..
Another book that featured Jane, ‘Six Tudor Queens: Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife’ by Alison Weir was published in May.
Tracy Borman’s History Extra Masterclass series about Tudor Royal Women ran in June and July. Jane featured in , Queens Regnant and Mary and Katherine Grey featured in Rivals to the Throne.
To mark the 468th Anniversary of Jane’s reign, I asked 9 historians and writers what they thought People should know about Jane..
I was pleased to take part in ‘All Things Tudor Queens and Consorts’ over at On The Tudor Trail, with my article 9 things you might not have known about the reign of Queen Jane
Also in July I interviewed S J Hodder about The York Princesses: The Daughters of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville which had been published in April 2021.
Another book that featured Jane, ‘Famous Last Words: Confessions, Humour and Bravery of the Departing’ by Chris Wood was published in July.
This was followed by ‘Woodsmoke and Sage: The Five Senses 1485-1603: How the Tudors Experienced the World’ by Amy Licence in August and ‘The Tudors in Love: The Courtly Code Behind the Last Medieval Dynasty’ by Sarah Gristwood in September.
On 4th October, an extract from a new play ‘Three Queens’ by Rosamund Gravelle, which features Lady Jane was performed at Scratch Night at the Queen’s Theatre.
Also in October, ‘Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens Exhibition’ opened at the British Library. Professor Susan Doran gave a talk entitled Too Close to Her Throne: The Other Cousins.
A new series of Inside the Tower was broadcast on Channel 5 and several of the episodes mentioned Jane.
Two more books that feature Jane were published in November, ‘Crown and Sceptre’ by Tracy Borman and ‘The Tudor Socialite’ by Jan-Marie Knights and she was the subject of a talk by Nicola Tallis as part of ‘The Hearts and Stomachs of Queens’ at Southwark Cathedral.
Also in November, the Auction Augur emailed to say that a portrait that could be the lost ‘Berry Hill’ portrait of Lady Jane was listed on an auction website (The lost “Berry-Hill” portrait of Lady Jane Grey: an unrecognised gem at auction in the US). The painting was listed as ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ but once Stephan Edwards had been in contact with the auction house, the description was changed to ‘Portrait of an unknown lady (likely Queen Elizabeth I). The painting was sold for $120,000. I interviewed Stephan about the Berry Hill portrait.
I visited the Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens Exhibition at the British Library. Jane and Katherine Grey also get a mention.
I reviewed ‘Disability and the Tudors: All the King’s Fools’ by Phillipa Vincent Connolly which features Lady Mary Grey.
