Lady Jane Grey/Dudley
Jane Dudley was the daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
She was married to Lord Guildford Dudley.
She was briefly the Queen of England after Edward VI (the boy King) died. Mary I became Queen due to popular
support for Queen Mary I (daughter Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon).
The events surrounding Jane's relationship with Lord Guildfrd Dudley may have had some bearing on those
in Belchamp Walter but there was enough going on locally to shape the village at the
time.
Lady Jane Grey (c. 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage)[4] and as the
"Nine Days' Queen",[7] was a teenage English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from
10 July until 19 July 1553.
Jane was the great granddaughter of Henry VII through his younger daughter Mary, and was a first cousin once removed of
Edward VI. She had an excellent humanist education, and a reputation as one of the most learned young women of her day.[8]
In May 1553, she married Lord Guildford Dudley, a younger son of Edward's chief minister John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland.
In June 1553, Edward VI wrote his will, nominating Jane and her male heirs as successors to the Crown, in part because his
half-sister Mary was Catholic, while Jane was a committed Protestant and would support the reformed Church of England,
whose foundation Edward laid. The will removed his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, from the line of succession on account
of their illegitimacy, subverting their claims under the Third Succession Act.
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Lord Guildford Dudley
Lord Guildford Dudley was the son of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, and the brother of 12 Dudley siblings
including, Henry, Thomas, John, Ambrose, Robert (m. 1. Amy Robsart, 2. ? Douglas [Sheffield] 3. Lettice Knollys) - older - Henry, Charles, Mary (m. Henry Sidney), Maragret, Katherine (m. Henry Hastings),
Temperance, Catherine.
