Helen Castor TV -
In 1553 the only heirs to the Tudor Throne were female. The next three monarchs of England would be women. Dr Helen Castor, She-Wolves: England’s Early Queens III: Jane, Mary and Elizabeth, BBC 2012
Nine-year-old Edward became King of England ... A few months after his fifteenth birthday Edward fell seriously ill ... He was dying. ibid.
Mary’s fear was that faith would usurp bloodline. ibid.
So in his [Edward’s] first draft he left his crown not to the Gray girls but to the sons they might one day have – their heirs male. ibid.
Jane Gray was strong willed and ferociously intelligent, but she was only fifteen and struggling with shock and grief. ibid.
Mary was determined she would be Queen. ibid.
Jane may have been proclaimed England’s Queen for a fleeting moment but she was never crowned. ibid.
Mary became the first Queen of England to be crowned in her own right. ibid.
Mary’s decision to marry Philip [II] has been seen as the defining mistake of her reign. ibid.
Jane was led to the scaffold in the precincts of the Tower. ibid.
Mary knew she needed an heir. ibid.
Mary undid Edward’s Protestant Reformation. ibid.
On 17th November 1558 Mary died. ibid.
The Tudors are historical superstars, our most famous royal dynasty. But there is one Tudor monarch who has been all but forgotten: Queen Jane. Helen Castor, England’s Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey I, BBC 2018
Lady Jane Grey was a teenager thrust on to the Throne only to lose her crown after nine days. ibid.
This is Edward’s device for the succession … He’s decided on a particular female line. ibid.
Jane was certainly put under pressure to be married. ibid.
‘This is not for me; the rightful heir is Mary.’ ibid. cited French ambassador
The first woman to be proclaimed Queen of England … It’s a Tudor thriller. Helen Castor, England’s Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey II
Northumberland has focused on securing the Tower and the machinery of state. It suggests at this point he doesn’t see Mary as a serious threat. ibid.
In July 1553 the choice the country faced was not just Jane or Mary, it was Protestant or Catholic. ibid.
Grass-roots support for Mary begins to have a surprising effect on the higher ranks of society. ibid.
She has locked her own supporters inside the Tower with her. Helen Castor, England’s Forgotten Queen: The List and Death of Lady Jane Grey III
The [Privy] Council had put Jane on the Throne and now they abandon her and declare for Mary. ibid.
Mary looked for a bloodless resolution. ibid.
Jane was tried alongside her husband Guildford. ibid.