Knowing his
reign was coming to an end, Edward realised he had to do something. He couldn’t
risk his work to turn England into a strong Protestant nation go to waste. His half-sister
Mary may have been loved by the people, but she was a devout Catholic with a
chip on her shoulder. She would ruin everything and put too many lives at risk.
Elizabeth
may have been a Protestant, but he couldn’t choose one half-sister instead of
the other, skipping over the elder half-sister. Besides, Elizabeth would never
gain the Catholic-heretic support. Her mother was despised for everything she
did in the past.
Edward
needed to look past his sisters. His father had no business putting them in the
line of succession anyway. They were both illegitimate. He needed a son of his
own, but it was too late for that. He could feel death creeping up on him, so
he needed to look at the next in line.
Edward Chooses Lady Jane Grey
Unfortunately,
the rest of his family tree was full of women. Edward didn’t believe women
could rule, but he had no choice. After Elizabeth, Henry VIII had named Frances
Brandon Grey, daughter of Mary Tudor, Queen of France, as the next in line.
Frances wasn’t going to have any more children, but she only had girls: three
of them. Fortunately, the girls were young enough to have boys of their own.
Suddenly Edward had a plan.
Of course,
Frances wasn’t happy about giving up her rights to the crown, but she
understand and agreed. Edward quickly went to work to name Lady Jane Grey,
Frances’ eldest daughter, as his successor. His Lord Protector, John Dudley,
Duke of Northumberland, was ready in the wings to help but under the
stipulation that Jane marry his fourth son Guildford. It wasn’t a great match,
but it would do. Edward made sure Frances and Henry Grey and Jane knew that
Guildford was never to be named king or receive the Crown Matrimonial.
After the
marriage, Edward went to work to officially make Jane his successor. As he grew
weaker, he summoned his sisters to him. Publicly announcing his plans, he then
had his sisters escorted to the Tower “for their own protection.” The Boy King
knew at least one would build a force to put Jane’s reign at risk and Edward
wasn’t having it. The people weren’t entirely happy that Mary Tudor had been
overlooked, especially the Catholics, but they moved onto another queenly
suggestion: a queen already in her own right. Mary, Queen of Scots was
suggested by the Catholics, but Edward refused to budge. Henry VIII had wanted
his younger sister’s line put before his elder sister’s line.
When Edward
died on July 6, Lady Jane Grey was officially proclaimed Queen Jane. It wasn’t
really what the 16-year-old girl wanted, but she never had a choice. She had to
do what was best for England.
The First Rebellion Attempt
John Dudley
and Henry Grey knew they would have rebellions to quash. They also knew Jane’s
public coronation needed to take place as soon as possible. July 19 was the
date set, leading to attentions to turn on Guildford. John Dudley had expected
his son to become king, and it wasn’t until the day of the coronation that he
learned about the secret agreement. John kicked himself for never
It didn’t
take long for a rebellion attempt with Mary as the figurehead. It came on the
morning of Jane’s coronation to prevent her being an anointed queen. Catholics
and Protestants surprisingly joined together in a bid for Mary to become queen,
but it wasn’t enough. Jane’s supporters were ready. The rebellion did make one
thing clear: Mary could never leave the Tower.
Elizabeth on
the other hand was allowed to leave. She was placed under house arrest, in the
care of Robert Dudley, fifth son of John Dudley. The two become close, making
Henry Grey fear that John would find a different way to get one of his sons the
throne. Henry Grey acted quickly and removed Elizabeth of Robert Dudley’s care
and placed Elizabeth in his own household for the time being. He would focus on
the illegitimate girl later.
With the
first rebellion put down, Janes started to look at becoming the queen the
people loved. Not allowing Guildford to become king was the first step. She
then put down wars in France, keeping hold of some of the English territories
in the country. Next was Scotland, where she wanted peace.
Peace with Mary, Queen of Scots
Peace wasn’t
possible until 1558. Mary Tudor’s death in the Tower helped to quieten some of
the Catholic factions. They no longer had a figurehead, except for Mary, Queen of
Scots. Mary Stewart was in France though, and the Protestants in Scotland were
gaining traction. The rise of a Protestant monarch in England had helped give
the Scottish Protestants hope. They overthrew their Scottish regent Mary de
Guise and agreed to terms with the English, in fear that Scotland would become
a French dominion due to Mary Stewart’s marriage to Francis, dauphin of France.
When Mary
Stewart returned to Scotland, she and Jane would regularly communicate through
letter. They bonded as queens in a man’s world, seeing similarities despite
their religious differences. The two would eventually meet and grow to like
each other, even if Mary, Queen of Scots feared for Jane’s soul.
That
relationship would Scotland gain a Protestant king, as Mary and Robert Dudley
married. Jane had decided that her loyal brother-in-law deserved this,
especially as he helped put down a number of rebellions over the years. Jane
helped Mary realize that this marriage would be good for the Scottish people.
Motherhood
would eventually help to bond them further. Jane was the first of the two
queens to become pregnant. In 1562, she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy,
named Henry after Jane’s father and great-uncle. Two years later, Mary Stewart
and Robert Dudley had a son of their own, named James after Mary’s father.
However, the next pregnancies the women would have led to sorrow. Mary gave
birth to stillborn twins, while Jane’s difficult pregnancy led to no choice but
a c-section that would claim her life on February 12, 1566. It wasn’t even
worth it, as the baby boy died three days later.
John Dudley
instantly stepped in to help rule the nation as his four-year-old grandson’s
regent, but Jane had already put a plan in place in case she didn’t make it
through labour. She had ensured King Henry IX had a council overseeing
everything, rather than one particular person in charge. Unfortunately, John
Dudley attempted to overthrow the decision and it led to England falling into
turmoil. Lands in France were lost and peace with Scotland was destroyed.
Mary, Queen
of Scots saw her chance to claim the English throne. After all, Jane’s
brother-in-law was her husband. They had the support of Catholics and
Protestants in Scotland, but England gave support to the toddler king. As the
only male in England and the eldest in Scotland in the line of succession, the
Protestants and Catholics in England viewed Henry IX as the rightful heir.
A Change in Leadership
England was
in a difficult state with John successfully claiming regency. When King Henry
turned 13, the council found John stealing from the treasury. He was arrested
and found guilty, possibly on some fictitious charges. It was convenient that
the aging Henry Grey was able to take over as regent for the young king.
Henry Grey
was a good influence, respecting everything that his daughter Jane had
attempted to do in her reign. With his grandfather’s help, King Henry IX was
able to build some of the bridges with Scotland. When Mary was deposed by the
Protestants in favour of her own boy king, Henry IX offered the former queen
support in England. She was placed under house arrest with Lady Elizabeth
Tudor, but at least she had some sort of safety. The two fallen women grew to
be close friends.
On Henry IX’s
18th birthday, he chose to take over. Henry Grey remained a closed
advisor, but it was time for England to have a ruling male monarch. Knowing how
other men in his family died young or without strong male heirs, Henry IX made
finding a bride and having an heir a priority.
A Pact with Spain
War was
brewing in Spain, but Henry wanted peace. He made a political offer to King Philip
II to marry his daughter Isabella. After some meetings and negotiations, a
treaty was made. Isabella would marry Henry when she turned 12. It was young,
but Henry needed to work fast and Spain wanted to gain some control over
England. Philip’s condition to the marriage was that Isabella became a
co-ruler. Henry agreed, knowing that it would fully appease the Catholics in
his country but did have the stipulation that heirs would become Philip’s heirs
regardless of any sons he had.
Isabella
fell pregnant soon after her marriage. It was a difficult birth, but they did
have a son. The boy was named Henry after his father and grandfather. The two
would have a daughter two years later. This time it was a girl, who Henry named
Jane. The third pregnancy would take the life of both mother and child. Philip
accused Henry of poor medical care for his beloved daughter. Breaking the
treaty, Philip declared war on England.
Fortunately,
Mary Stewart’s good treatment in England and good relationship with her own son
helped Henry gain support from the Scottish. That led to support from France
and the Spanish Armada was sunk.
At 26, Henry
caught smallpox. Everyone feared the worst, and Henry created a plan for a
government to rule over his young son. He also released Elizabeth and Mary from
their house arrests. Henry made it clear to both women that he only ever wanted
peace and wished that they hadn’t been locked away for so long. He also wanted
to see England and Scotland join together.
Henry’s wish
for two countries with the same crown eventually happened. In the 1700s,
Scotland was left without an heir and eventually had to turn to England. The
crowns would join with the English King George I.
