Reign
Edward VI died on 6th July 1553, and on 9th July the 16-year-old Jane was informed that she was now Queen of England. News of the king’s demise was kept a secret until 10th July, however, perhaps given the inevitable controversy over his named successor. How she took the news, and whether it came as a surprise, is a mystery. At her trial (see below), Jane protested that she only accepted the crown with the greatest reluctance, but given the seriousness of the charges against her, it is unclear whether she was merely attempting to save her life.
As the daughter-in-law of the Duke of Northumberland, who was closely involved in Edward’s choice of successor, it seems unlikely that she would not have been prepared for the news. After all, when she married Dudley, Edward was in the midst of deciding to whom he should bequeath his throne, which gives the union a decidedly political flavour. Whatever her reaction to the news, on 10th July she was presented as queen to the public, and made her way in procession to the security of the impregnable Tower of London, as was customary for English monarchs awaiting coronation.
The only account of her procession comes from a letter by a Genoese merchant, which is seen as a Victorian forgery by some modern historians. Certainly, it is suspiciously close to the portrait of Jane used for the main image above, but for the sake of completion, here is the gist: ‘[Jane is] very short and thin, but prettily shaped and graceful. She has small features and a well-made nose, the mouth flexible and the lips red. The eyebrows are arched and darker than her hair, which is nearly red. Her eyes are sparkling and reddish brown in colour’.
Although she is known as the ‘Nine Days’ Queen’, Jane actually reigned for 13, as she became de facto queen upon Edward’s death. We have very few contemporary accounts of her short reign, in which she achieved little. According to Jane’s trial testimony, Dudley wanted to be made king, but she would only agree to make him Duke of Clarence. Dudley’s furious response was reported to the Duchess of Northumberland, who commanded him to leave the Tower, which Jane overruled. Dudley nonetheless acted like a monarch, presiding over daily council meetings and insisting that he be addressed as a king.
It is hard to tell how England would have fared with Dudley and Jane ruling over it. Although the marriage was already showing signs of fractiousness, despite being only a matter of months old, Jane’s refusal to make him king and overruling of her mother-in-law suggest a self-confidence and firmness of character that would potentially have made her a good queen. Nonetheless, the questions over her legitimacy to rule would be unlikely to disappear even if Mary was disposed of, for many on both sides of the Protestant/ Catholic division firmly believed in the Divine Right of Kings.