2017 was a very exciting year for me.
In July I read the eulogy to Jane at the ‘Queen of Bradgate’ Celebrations memorial service at Bradgate Park.
Also during the summer I carried out some research for the forthcoming three part TV series ‘England’s Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey’ and this website was listed in the bibliography of Philippa Gregory’s ‘The Last Tudor.’
In January, Lady Jane featured in an article in issue 47 of All About History Magazine. ‘What if…’ by Nicola Tallis looked at what could have happened if Lady Jane Grey had not been deposed by Mary Tudor on 19th July 1553.
(c) Imagine Publishing
February marked the 463rd anniversary of Jane’s execution. Bradgate Park marked the anniversary with visitors laying white tulips outside the house ruins for Jane. Glenda (@tudorista) visited Bradgate and very kindly laid a tulip for me. You can read about her visit at ‘Remembering Lady Jane.’
Sarah Gristwood answered my questions about her new book, Game of Queens which was published in October 2016.
In March, Jane got a brief mention in an article by Nicola Tallis in issue 49 of All About History Magazine. Nicola was interviewed by BBC Radio Wiltshire about ‘Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey.’ These are the main points from the interview.
It was also announced that Bradgate Park would be running a series of events during the summer to mark the reign of their Queen. The paperback of ‘Private Lives of the Tudors’ by Tracy Borman was published.
In April I took part in the book blog tour for ‘Queen of Martyrs’ by Samantha Wilcoxson. Samantha wrote a guest article about ‘Jane and Mary – Reluctant Rivals’ .
Two books that also featured Jane were ‘So High a Blood: The Life of Margaret, Countess of Lennox’ by Morgan Ring, who answered my questions in an interview and ‘Arbella Stuart: The Uncrowned Queen’ by Jill Armitage.
April also saw Lady Jane on the cover of ‘History of Royals’ Magazine. The in depth article by Nicola Tallis looked at Jane’s education and how it shaped her life. Nicola Tallis also talked to Viral History about Lady Jane.
The paperback of Elizabeth Norton’s ‘The Lives of Tudor Women’ was published in May. Elizabeth answered my questions in an interview .
I was honoured that Nancy Goldstone and her publisher ‘Little, Brown’, allowed me to share the amazing US cover of Nancy’s new book, ‘Daughters of the Winter Queen: Four Remarkable Sisters, the Crown of Bohemia, and the Enduring Legacy of Mary, Queen of Scots’, which will be published in 2018.
Very fittingly, the paperback of ‘Crown of Blood’ by Nicola Tallis was published on 6th July. Stephan Edwards talked about Lady Jane in an interview on ABC Radio Australia. These are the main points from the interview.
Throughout July, Bradgate Park held a series of events commemorate the reign of their nine day queen. These included free guided tours, dusk tours, a talk about Jane by Peter Tyldesley (Park Director), Meet the Executioner, 1000yrs of History, a ghost walk and a Hysterical History Comedy Night.
The final event was a ‘Remembrance and Rose Petal Service’ held in the chapel at Bradgate. I was honoured to deliver the eulogy to Jane.
A 3 part TV series about Lady Jane was announced in August. ‘England’s Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey’ will be shown on BBC4 and is presented by Helen Castor. I had carried out some research for the production company during the summer.
I was honoured that Nancy Goldstone and her publisher ‘Weidenfeld & Nicolson,’ allowed me to share the amazing UK cover of Nancy’s new book, ‘‘Daughters of the Winter Queen: Four Remarkable Sisters and the Enduring Legacy of Mary, Queen of Scots’, which will be published in 2018.
BBC History Magazine announced their ‘History Hot 100’ in August and Lady Jane was at number 61.
Three books that featured Jane were published this month. Jane was a main character in ‘The Last Tudor’ by Philippa Gregory and I was thrilled that my website was listed in the bibliography.
Jane was also mentioned in ‘Discovering Tudor London: A Journey Back in Time’ by Natalie Grueninger and ‘The Lost Kings: Lancaster, York and Tudor’ by Amy Licence.
In September I took part in the book blog tour for ‘‘The Queen’s Mary: In the Shadows of Power’ by Sarah Gristwood. Sarah wrote a guest article about The Four Marys.
Leanda de Lisle gave a talk about the Grey Sisters at the Ryedale Book Festival. You can view Leanda’s talk ‘Mary, Katherine and Lady Jane Grey: Heirs to the last Tudor’
Jane featured in a couple of books that were published this month; ‘Amy Robsart: A Life and Its End’ by Christine Hartweg and ‘The Survival of the Princes in the Tower’ by Matthew Lewis.
In October I took part in the book blog tour for ‘The King’s Pearl: Henry VIII and His Daughter Mary’ by Melita Thomas. Melita wrote a guest article about Cousins, servants, friends – Mary and the Grey family.
This month I also interviewed Michele Smith , who is the Visitor Experience Manager at Bradgate Park. Michele had organised the ‘Queen of Bradgate Park Celebrations’ and I asked her about this, what working at the park is like and any plans for future events.
Two books that were published in November that featured Jane were ‘Unexpected Heirs in Early Modern Europe: Potential Kings and Queens’ edited by Valerie Schutte and ‘Elizabeth’s Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester’ by Nicola Tallis. Nicola also gave a talk about Lady Jane at the BBC History Magazine Weekend in York.
Elizabeth Fremantle very kindly let me share her short story about the Grey sisters, The Sum of Me.
The final month of the year, also saw Jane feature in a number of books. These included: ‘Gender, Authorship, and Early Modern Women’s Collaboration’ edited by Patricia Pender, ‘Four Queens and a Countess: Elizabeth I, Mary Tudor, Lady Jane Grey, Mary Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick: The Struggle for the Crown’ by Jill Armitage and the US paperback edition of ‘Crown of Blood’ by Nicola Tallis.
The last interview of the year was with Matt Lewis, who answered my questions about ‘The Survival of the Princes in the Tower’.
The broadcast dates for ‘England’s Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey’ were announced. The 3 part series will be shown on BBC4 on 9th, 10th and 11th January.
