- Drafting
- BBC News World
—
Image source, Getty Images
—
Juana Gray was de facto queen of England and Ireland from July 10 to July 19, 1553.
–
In the history books, Juana Gray – better known as Lady Jane – is remembered as an innocent victim of her own family’s ruthless power play.
–
The 16-year-old girl – who has been described as precociously intelligent and as one of the most cultured women of her time – could not overcome the ambition of her closest friends and, after a brief period of 9 days reigning England, ended up imprisoned and executed in 1554.
–
Its tragic story has gone unnoticed within the complex plot of the Tudor dynasty, one of the most popular historical periods in English literature and legend.
–
Who was this young woman known as the “queen of the 9 days”? And who was behind the string of deceptions that ended with his surprise execution?
–
The children of Henry VIII
To understand the history of Juana Gray you have to go back to the reign of Henry VIII, the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty, who led England between 1509 and 1547.
–
Newly crowned, Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon, who after an abortion and the death of a newborn child, gave birth to a girl, named Maria.
–
Image source, Getty Images
—
Henry VIII, the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty, led England between 1509 and 1547.
–
But the king wanted a man to succeed him. And when it became clear that Catalina could not have any more children, her patience ran out and she decided to divorce.
–
This led to a series of disagreements with the Catholic Church until in 1533 his relationship with Rome was broken.
–
Without wanting to, and although he always considered himself a Catholic, Henry VIII had unleashed a religious revolution that made way for him to Protestant evangelism.
–
After divorcing Catalina de Aragón, and after a short marriage with Ana Bolena (with whom he also had a daughter, Elizabeth), Henry VIII married Juana Seymour who, at last, gave him a male child: Eduardo.
–
The reign and death of Edward VI
In January 1547, Henry VIII died.
–
Image source, Getty Images
—
Catherine of Aragon could not give Henry VIII a male child.
–
His successor, Eduardo (who was renamed Eduardo VI), was only 9 years old.
–
For this reason, he could not exercise power alone, and a regency council formed by sixteen members and led by the “Lord protector” was created. Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset.
–
The Seymour regency took advantage of a series of reforms, including that of the Church. Thus, Edward VI became the first Protestant English ruler.
–
A couple of years later, Seymour would be replaced by John Dudley, Earl of Warwick (and later Duke of Northumberland). His arrival unleashed the persecution of Catholicism in England; dissidents were even imprisoned and burned at the stake.
–
Image source, Getty Images
—
Young King Edward held the throne between 1547 and 1553.
–
But the reign of Edward VI would not last long. The young king was in poor health. It is believed that he suffered from a congenital form of syphilis or tuberculosis.
–
In January 1553, he began to suffer from a bad cold. And this gave him time to prepare his own succession.
–
And here, at last, appears the name of Juana Grey, fervent Protestant, cousin of Eduardo VI and very close to him.
–
According to the British historian expert on the Tudor dynasty, J. Stephan Edwards, the king had to realize that the only possibility of succession was a woman, whether she liked it or not.
–
“And the only woman available for that at the time was Juana Gray,” she explained in the BBC documentary series, “The Forgotten Queen of England: The Life and Death of Juana Gray.”
–
Image source, Getty Images
—
Eduardo VI and his group of advisers.
–
Also, his name appeared in the line of succession because Mary Tudor, alleged heir, half-sister of the king (and daughter of Catherine of Aragon), was considered illegitimate and was also tremendously catholic.
–
For this reason, Eduardo VI did not want to give him power because he wanted to ensure his Protestant legacy.
–
The Duke of Northumberland played a key role in persuading the king to declare Maria illegitimate, as well as Edward’s other half-sister, Elizabeth, and alter the line of succession to pass to Juana, who was also married to her son, Lord Guildford Dudley.
–
Finally, in July 1553 the king passed away at the age of 16. His collaborators, then, began to secretly prepare the accession to the throne of Juana Gray.
–
Maria Tudor’s ambition for power
Juana Gray, daughter of Henry Grey, duque de Suffolk, he was born 16 years ago, in the fall of 1537.
–
Around the age of 10, she entered the home of Henry VIII’s last wife, Catherine Parr, where she was exposed to a strongly Protestant academic environment.
–
Image source, Getty Images
—
Four days after the death of Edward VI, on July 10, 1553, Juana was proclaimed queen.
–
Joan quickly became an intelligent and pious woman, and was widely accepted in the spheres of power that surrounded the king.
–
Thus, four days after the death of Edward VI, on July 10, 1553, Juana was proclaimed queen knowing very little what this really meant.
–
Her arrival to the throne was absolutely transformative, being the first woman to hold this position in England.
–
However, what the late king and his advisers had not calculated was the broad popular support that Maria Tudor had and, by the way, his lust for power.
–
Image source, Getty Images
—
Maria Tudor had wide popular support.
–
When the woman was certain that her half brother was going to die, she left for East Anglia (a region in eastern England) where she gathered numerous supporters who, like her, wanted to restore Catholicism.
–
The Duke of Northumberland tried to capture Maria without success.
–
And so, the outlook for the newly assumed queen became increasingly complicated.
–
Decapitation
It took a couple of days for many of Juana Grey’s supporters to abandon her. Among them, her own father, the Duke of Suffolk, who easily convinced his daughter to renounce the crown.
–
María Tudor came to claim what she considered hers and on July 19 she imprisoned Juana in the tower of London, while the Duke of Northumberland, his main ally, was executed a month later.
–
Image source, Getty Images
—
The “queen of the 9 days” was beheaded, along with her husband, on February 12, 1554.
–
Juana was accused of high treason and usurper of the throne.
–
According to the National Portrait Gallery in London, although Juana Grey’s innocence was never doubted, her figurehead as a possible leader of a Protestant revolt made her an “unacceptable danger” to the new regime.
–
And although for a few months he escaped his execution, his father’s rebellion against the marriage of the then Queen María and Felipe II of Spain ended up sealing his fate.
–
In this way, the “queen of the 9 days” was beheaded, along with her husband, on February 12, 1554.
–
Their father followed them two days later.
–
—
–
Remember that you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Downloada our app and activate them so you don’t miss our best content.
—
