A short-lived teenage monarch in Tudor history has now inspired a fantastical TV romp on Prime Video. But ridiculous as it is, it highlights how the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey was much more than a victim. Since her execution 470 years ago, Lady Jane Grey has lived on in the public imagination as the quintessential victim.
Just 16 when she was pushed on to the English throne by her ambitious father-in-law, Jane reigned for only nine days. She was subsequently beheaded upon the order of vengeful Queen Mary, who took the throne from her and, as the story goes, could not tolerate a rival claimant for the crown remaining alive. Reinforcing this narrative is Paul Delaroche's 1833 portrait of Jane, on permanent display at the National Gallery in London.
Kneeling, blindfolded, clad in white, Jane gropes for the block, an innocent lamb readying herself for slaughter. In reality, Lady Jane Grey was a far more complex character. The grand-niece of Henry VIII, she was "a rather abrasive person", suggests Dr Samantha Rogers, who teaches Tudor history at Nashville's Vanderbilt University.
"She was also dour and pious. I suspect I would not have wanted to be friends with her." Yet, during her short life Lady Jane Grey demonstrated plenty of agency, to use modern parlance.
Queen Mary was initially willing to pardon Jane after she was tried and found guilty of treason, but Jane continued to be an outspoken Protestant – fiercely opposed to Mary's reintroduction of the Catholic Mass in England .