Elizabeth Norton (author of ‘The Lives of Tudor Women’)
(c) Head of ZeusEdward VI died on 6 July 1553 and Mary I was proclaimed on 19 July 1553, with a gap of thirteen days that was filled by Jane’s queenship. She may have been formally proclaimed on 10 July, but if she wasn’t monarch during the four days that preceded this then who was? In accordance with the well known concept of ‘the king is dead, long live the king’, there is no interregnum when an English monarch dies. This was certainly the case when Henry VIII died only six years before – his death was initially kept secret, but still Edward technically reigned. If Jane was legitimately Edward’s heir then she became queen at the moment of his death. For that reason, I would absolutely give her a reign of thirteen days, even if Jane was not aware – initially – of her accession.
Joanne Paul (author of ‘The House of Dudley’)
(c) PenguinReigns traditionally begin with the death or deposition of the previous monarch, meaning that we need to date her reign’s beginning to 6 July, when Edward VI dies. Arguments could, I suppose be made for the 10 July when the proclamations go out, but this would go against the precedent of, for instance, Henry VIII, whose reign begins the day his father, Henry VII, dies, even though he is not proclaimed king for two days.
Jane has the support of the Council until the afternoon of the 19 July, when they declare for Mary. Her reign is effectively over at that point.
