Editing House of Tudor (section)

== Jane ==
The dying Edward VI, under the pressure of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, named his cousin and Northumberland's daughter-in-law, [[Lady Jane Grey]], as his successor due to her Protestant beliefs. Edward's reluctance to follow the line of succession, which named his half-sister [[Mary I of England|Mary]] as next in line, stemmed from his knowledge that Mary, firmly Catholic, would restore England to the Vatican. Lady Jane Grey was consistently at court after her father was made [[Duke of Suffolk]] in October 1551.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morrill |first=John S. |author-link=John Morrill (historian) |date=8 February 2020 |title=Lady Jane Grey |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lady-Jane-Grey |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.}}</ref> Her mother, [[Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk]], was the daughter of [[Mary Tudor, Queen of France|Mary Tudor]], the sister of Henry VIII. On 21 May 1553, Jane was married to Northumberland's son, [[Lord Guildford Dudley]]. This was a political move organised by the Duke to ensure that Protestantism stayed the national religion if Jane were to become queen. Edward died on 6 July 1553 and 16-year-old Jane, who fainted when she heard the news, was made queen on 10 July. However, despite the efforts of the Duke of Northumberland and Jane's father, the Duke of Suffolk, the public's support was with Lady Mary, the rightful heir according to Henry VIII's will. On 19 July Suffolk persuaded his daughter to relinquish the throne, which she had never wanted, to Mary.<ref>{{Cite web |last=((History.com Editors)) |date=9 February 2010 |title=Lady Jane Grey Deposed as Queen of England |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lady-jane-grey-deposed |website=History |publisher=A&E Television Networks}}</ref> Mary's supporters joined her in a triumphal procession to London, accompanied by her younger sister [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth]]. Lady Jane and her father were arrested for high treason and imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]]. Her father was pardoned, but his participation in [[Wyatt's rebellion]] led to his execution shortly after. Jane and her husband Lord Guildford were sentenced to death and beheaded on 12 February 1554. Jane was only 17 years old, and the cruel way in which her life had been lost for a throne she never desired aroused much sympathy among the public.