King Henry the VIII of England sat on the English throne in 1537, the year Jane Grey was born.She was King Henry's great niece,the same age as Henry's only son, Edward.When Henry died and left his kingdom to Edward, the country was deeply divided between Protestant and Catholic.

Lady Jane was well- educated,a lover of books, who even read Greek.She was a devoted Christian from youth,raised in the Protestant faith by strict and ambitious parents, who may have harbored hopes that Jane would be Queen of England.

Indeed, it was planned by some that Jane would one day marry the sickly Edward so a Catholic like Princess Mary Tudor would not become ruler of England.

However, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who was an advisor to King Edward wanted Jane to marry his son Hugh, and thus fulfill Dudley's ambition for power.For this way, Jane would become the ruler of England,at young Edward's death.John Dudley figured he could control both his son Hugh and Jane, and thus rule from behind the throne, John Dudley enlisted the support of Jane's parents,who insisted Jane marry Hugh Dudley.

With great reluctance at age 16, Lady Jane Grey married Hugh Dudley. Shortly after, young King Edward died, and the Royal Privy Council declared Lady Jane, Queen of England despite much opposition from forces loyal to Princess Mary Tudor -Jane's cousin, who was the late Henry VIII's daughter by Catherine of Aragon.

Thankfully, Jane and Hugh proved to be well-matched.Both were sensitive to the plight of the poor, and those held captive in English prisons. During her brief nine day reign as Queen of England, Jane freed many prisoners, stopped the branding of starving peasants, and gave her own royal wardrobe away to the wretched, following the biblical example found in Isaiah 61:1-3.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim freedom for the captives,and release from darkness for the prisoners,to proclaimthe year of the Lord's favor....."

In a matter of days,John Dudley, Hugh's father, had to take English troops to Scotland to fight the forces of Mary Queen of Scots.

Queen Jane's privy council then deserted her. They pronounced Mary Tudor("Bloody Mary") the true Queen of England, and branded John Dudley a traitor.

Jane and Hugh were arrested.They were separated,and Jane was taken to the Tower of London.

Now, Queen Mary had promised that her cousin Jane would not be executed for treason. But Mary was in love with King Philip of Spain who would only wed Mary if there were no threat remaining of a Protestant attaining the English royal crown. So Mary decreed that all Protestants who renounced their fate,would be pardoned,but those who did not would be punished. Both Jane and her husband refused to recant, and were sentenced to execution by beheading for treason.

Jane was executed in the courtyard of the Tower of London,and her husband Hugh was also beheaded in a different location. They both desired to be remembered for the purity of their faith.

It seems incredible that a 16 year old girl had such spiritual maturity as Jane Grey. It is for good reason, she is revered by many as the archetype of the Christian martyr.

Lady Jane Grey

The Nine Day Queen of England