Marriage
The plan to wed Jane to her cousin-once-removed, King Edward VI, was curtailed when the man put in charge of making the proposal, Thomas Seymour, was arrested and executed after attempting to kidnap the king and killing his dog! This wasn’t as nefarious as it sounds, as Seymour, who was the king’s maternal uncle, was trying to save Edward from his brother, the widely-loathed and incompetent Duke of Somerset, but his presence outside the monarch’s apartment at night with a loaded pistol saw him charged with treason and executed in 1549. He shot the dog because of its vigorous barking.
Jane’s father, Sir Henry Grey, was a close friend of Seymour, and initially suspected of complicity in the bungled kidnap. He was fortunate to emerge legally untainted by the scandal, which would have ruined the Grey family, and his failed attempt to marry Jane to the son of Somerset, who was still Lord Protector despite his brother’s best intentions, suggests some guilt on his part. However, as an eligible and powerful young woman with royal blood, and moreover one with a spotless record of conformity to the new Church of England, Lady Jane Grey had no shortage of suitors.
In spring 1553, as Edward suffered from what turned out to be a fatal illness, Jane was married to Lord Guildford Dudley. Dudley was the son of the most powerful man in the country, Duke of Northumberland, who had replaced Somerset as Edward’s Lord Protector in 1550. He was a suitable match for Jane, with similarly impressive connections, Protestant faith, and a Humanist education. His friend, the chronicler Richard Grafton, described Dudley as ‘a comely, virtuous, and goodly gentleman’. Jane and Dudley’s union was part of a magnificent triple wedding at Durham House, London, alongside Dudley’s sister and Jane’s sister.