Lee Porritt (owner of Lady Jane Grey Revisited)
‘I suppose the answer to this question is if the individual believes that the reign of Queen Jane was lawful or not. Historians have been divided over this subject for many years, and the topic of what we call Jane today is a tricky one. She was born Lady Jane Grey, was referred to as Queen Jane for a short period of time and died Lady Jane Dudley on that cold February morning in 1554. However, today she is more commonly known by her maiden name. From the moment of her death there does appear to have been a conscious effort to disassociate Jane from the Dudley name. She is often referred to as ‘Jane of Suffolk’ or the ‘Usurper’ in contemporary documentation. Her marriage to Lord Guildford Dudley would last less than nine weeks, before both were imprisoned in the Tower of London, and their relationship was cut short in the saddest of ways. By the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the use of the name Lady Jane Dudley is almost obliterated from the history books, and the mythological character of Lady Jane Grey began to appear.
I do feel that Edward VI is underestimated slightly, in terms of the 1553 crisis. Blame is often pointed at others around him for the decision to make Jane Queen in place of his sister Mary. However, it needs to be remembered that Jane was in fact Edward’s forth choice to inherit the throne of England. The final copy of his Devise for the Succession has not currently surfaced, however, a draft copy has survived in Edward’s own hand, which is today stored at the Inner Temple Library, London. The original draft demonstrates that at the time of writing Edward had hope of life. He was initially attempting to avoid a Queen altogether, opting to leave the throne to any male heirs he may produce. The draft goes on to state that if he was to die without children, then the throne was to pass to the male heirs of Jane’s mother Frances Grey, and then the male heirs of Jane and her sisters. Sadly, for Edward time was an issue. His health was failing rapidly, and although Jane and her sister Catherine had been hastily married off there was insufficient time to produce the male child needed. The Devise was then changed, leaving the throne to Jane and her male heirs, excluding Frances altogether. In Edward’s final years, he was starting to show some of that ruthless determination displayed by his father Henry VIII, especially in matters relating to religious beliefs. Edward had a difficult relationship with his sister Mary, due to the divide in religion, and Mary continuing to practice mass when specifically requested not to.
In 1544, Parliament passed the Third Act of Succession identifying Mary as Edward’s rightful successor. Edward died before his Devise could be passed in Parliament and the 1544 Act of Succession suppressed. This then left Jane, the council, and others around her in a vulnerable position following his death. Although, her reign was initially recognised by the council and a long-winded proclamation was read aloud detailing her claim to the throne, Jane was almost unknown to the public. As we see from the events that played out during July of 1553, the 1544 Act of Succession recognising Mary as the rightful Queen was not forgotten.
It is my belief that when discussing her brief reign, Jane should be referred to as Queen. Due to Edward’s Devise not being passed through parliament and how events unfolded in England, we can identify that her reign was not completely lawful. However, England was ruled under the name of Queen Jane for a short period of time. Jane’s reign is listed among other Kings and Queens on the official Royal Family website, documents related to her time as Queen are stored under the name of ‘Queen Jane’ in our National Archives and A file concerning her iconography is also stored under the monarchy section at the National Portrait Gallery archive. This identifies that the reign is at least acknowledged by officials within the UK, however, until another Jane succeeds to the English throne, we will never truly know if she will be known as Jane I or Jane II.’
