Lady Jane Grey pt. 1: A Short Childhood

Jane was born on an unknown date in 1537 to Henry Grey, Marquess of Dorset and his wife, Lady Frances Brandon. Jane and her younger sisters, Lady Catherine Grey and Lady Mary Grey, were great-grandneices of Henry VII and members of the House of Tudor. She was well-educated, knowing Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, as well as the modern languages. Through the teachings of her tutors, she became a devout Protestant and, I beleive, had a saving faith in Christ.

Being the great-grandneice of Henry VII didn't mean she lived a life of luxury, however. Like all Christians, she was persecuted from a young age. Her mother, Frances Brandon, was an abusive and domineering woman who felt that Jane was "too weak and gentle." Her daughter's meekness and quiet unassuming manner irritated the bold and independent Frances, who sought to "harden" the child by frequent floggings. Devoid of a mother's love and and craving affection and understanding, Jane turned to her books as solace and quickly mastered the arts and languages. At the young age of 9, she was sent to live as the ward of Queen Catherine Parr, sixth and last wife of Henry VII. Queen Catherine was a warm and loving woman and took Jane under her wing. Having never experienced any demonstration of love from her own mother, Jane thrived in the warm affection she received from "Aunt Catherine", and blossomed into a fine young woman. Her spirits rose and she learned to assert herself. Unfortunatly, Catherine died shortly after the birth of her only child, and again, Jane was left without a maternal figure. Jane acted as cheif mourner at Catherine's funeral.

Catherine's husband, Thomas Seymour, attempted to marry her off to his own nephew, Edward VI, but it was difficult as in reality it was his brother, Edward Seymour (1st Duke of Sommerset) who held the power. A match with Elisabeth of France (Henry II of France's daughter) was already being arrangedand with two conflicting goals, the Seymour brothers flew themselves into a power struggle. The marriage never took place between the King and Jane. The Seymour brothers were eventually tried for treason and executed after a coup by the ambitious John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. Jane, left without hope of marriage, became the center of negotiations between Frances Brandon and John Dudley. Her mother wished to marry her to the Guildford Dudley, the son of the Duke, now the new power. Jane was alarmed at the prospect of marrying into the Dudley family, a traitorous lot who she had come to fear and hate. But like most women of the 16th century, she had no choice but to obey her parents' wishes.

To be continued (at some point)...