2019 started with a guest article by John Tepper Marlin, Oxford’s Tudor Colleges: What if Lady Jane had stayed Queen? John’s book, ‘Oxford College Arms: Intriguing Stories Behind Oxford’s Shields’ was published by Boissevain Books LLC in September 2018.
Also in January, I interviewed Kathryn Warner about her book, ‘Blood Roses: The Houses of Lancaster and York before the Wars of the Roses’, which had been published in Autumn 2018 by The History Press.
In February, Alison Weir wrote about how Lady Jane became an ‘unwilling pawn of the Reformation’ in History Revealed Magazine.
Bradgate Park marked the 465th anniversary of Lady Jane’s execution on 12th February with a Tulip procession. I also interviewed Leanda de Lisle about her award winning,
‘White King: The Tragedy of Charles I’.
A new Lady Jane website, Lady Jane Grey Revisited was launched. This wonderful site has grown to include portrait discussion, auction-collection records and Jane’s life in paintings.
‘Tudor and Jacobean Portraits’ by Charlotte Bolland which featured the Lady Jayne/Streatham portrait was published towards the end of the month.
The Lady Jayne/Streatham portrait went to Australia, when the ‘Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits’ Exhibition opened at the Bendigo Art Gallery on 16th March.
I added the current description of the portrait to A look at how the Streatham portrait has been displayed over the years….
In April, Catherine Hanley answered my questions about her new book, Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior which had been published the previous month.
Also this month I took part in the book blog tour for ‘Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King’s Beloved Sister’ by Heather Darsie. Heather answered by questions about Anne in an interview.
‘Katherine Howard: Henry VIII’s Slandered Queen’ by Conor Bryne was published at the end of the month and Conor wrote a guest article, ‘The Teenage Tudor Queen’.
I was honoured to be the May expert speaker at the Tudor Society. Members can listen to my talk about Lady Jane here.
Historian and author of ‘The Turbulent Crown – The Story of the Tudor Queens,’ Roland Hui wrote about a possible source for the Streatham portrait at this website, Becoming Jane: The Streatham Portrait of Lady Jane Grey and its Association to a Woodcut Intended for Theodore Beza’s ‘Icones’ (1580).
A new exhibition opened at Hever Castle. ‘Hever on Stage & Screen’ featured some behind the scenes photos from the filming of ‘Lady Jane’ starring Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes.
A new series of articles, ‘In Fiction’ began with the anniversary of Jane’s wedding to Guildford Dudley on 25th May.
The paperback of ‘The Poison Bed’ by E.C Fremantle was published in June and thanks to Michael Joseph (Penguin Random House) five lucky readers won a copy of what BBC History called ‘The Miniaturist Meets Gone Girl.’
My article, ’10 Things You Didn’t Know About Lady Jane Grey’ appeared in the June edition of Tudor Life Magazine (from the Tudor Society).
The Birkbeck Medieval & Early Modern Reading Group watched the film Lady Jane. Or as @JylofBraintford tweeted rather brilliantly!
Finally this month, Kelcey Wilson-Lee answered my questions about her new book, Daughters of Chivalry: The Forgotten Children of Edward I which had been published in March.
The 466th anniversary of Jane’s reign was celebrated with ‘Queen of Bradgate Events’ held throughout the month at Bradgate Park. These included a Queen Jane Rose Petal Service, Ruins Dusk Tour and The History of Bradgate Park walk.
‘In Fiction’ continued with Jane’s arrival at the Tower as Queen and the
end of her reign on July 19th.
My article, ‘Arbella Stuart and the Greys’ appeared in the August edition of Tudor Life Magazine (from the Tudor Society).
‘Early Modern English Noblewomen and Self-Starvation: The Skull Beneath the Skin’ by Sasha Garwood was published and included case studies of Katherine Grey and Arbella Stuart.
21st August 2019
Jane featured in 2 podcasts this month. Her scaffold speech was included in Histories of the Unexpected’s Executions podcast and Leanda de Lisle discussed the Grey sisters with Natalie Grueninger at Talking Tudors.
In September I took part in the book blog tour for ‘The House of Grey: Friends & Foes of Kings’ by Melita Thomas. Melita wrote a guest article, Father and Daughter.
Lady Jane got 2 mentions in Episode 1 of the second series of ‘Inside the Tower of London’ on Channel 5 in October and Jane’s brief reign also featured in Episode 5.
Melita Thomas answered my questions about ‘The House of Grey’ in an interview. Also this month, The London Renaissance Seminar included ‘Thinking with Tudors: Palaces, Books and Lady Jane Grey.’
‘In Fiction’ continued with Trial at the Guildhall to mark the anniversary of Jane and Guildford’s trial on 13th November 1553.
‘Rival Sisters: Mary and Elizabeth Tudor’ by by Sylvia Barbara Soberton, which featured Jane was published.
I also went to Hampton Court to listen to Melita Thomas’s talk about ‘The House of Grey.’ You can read the main points about 3 mother and son relationships in the Grey family (including the father of Lady Jane) here.
The second episode of the eighth series of Digging for Britain featured the archaeological dig at Bradgate.
The year ended with a talk about Lady Jane by Harry J Tomkinson at Bosworth Battlefield.
