Was Jane Queen for 9 or 13 days?


Sharon Bennett Connolly (author of Heroines of the Tudor World)

(c) Amberley Publishing

Technically, I suppose, she was queen for 9 days as she was proclaimed queen 4 days after the death of Edward VI. However… ever since the 13th century, it has been the tradition in England that a monarch succeeds at the moment of the previous monarch’s death. This was established in the reign of Henry III to assure the smooth succession of Edward I, who left for crusade knowing his father was ill and not expected to live for too many more years. This is where the practice pf proclaiming ‘the king is dead, long live the king’ originates. In which case, as Edward VI had said that Jane would succeed him on his death, so she was queen the moment Edward died – proclamation or no – so, 13 days




Heather Darsie (author of Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King’s Beloved Sister)

(c) Amberley Publishing

Lady Jane Grey was queen of England for 13 days. However, she was never anointed, which leaves open a technical dispute. Had Jane lived long enough for her coronation, she would have been properly anointed and the first true queen regnant of England.


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