Lady Jane Grey Biography

Lady Jane Grey is a famous sidelight to British royal history. At age 15 she was married to Lord Guilford Dudley as part of a plot to control the English throne after the death of her cousin, the boy king Edward VI (son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour). On 10 July 1553, four days after Edward's death, Lady Jane's supporters proclaimed her to be Queen. It soon became clear that Edward's half-sister Mary Tudor had far greater support, and after a "reign" of nine days Lady Jane Grey relinquished the crown. She and her husband were charged with high treason, and in 1554 they were beheaded.