At the beginning of 1553, Henry VIII’s only son King Edward VI was dying. For the first time in English history all potential claimants were women. Henry’s daughters Mary and Elizabeth, and their cousins Jane Grey (1553) and Mary, Queen of Scots. For the first time in history, England would have a Queen regnant. Partisan councillors would jockey for position in order to secure their own futures and the religious destiny of the nation.
CHARACTERS
Lady Jane Grey – Queen of England (disputed)
Guildford Dudley – husband of Lady Jane Grey
Henry VIII – Jane great uncle and King of England (1509-47)
Edward VI – Jane’s cousin and King of England (1547-53)
Henry Grey, duke of Suffolk – father of Lady Jane Grey
Frances – mother of Lady Jane Grey
Mary – daughter of Henry VIII
Elizabeth – daughter of Henry VIII
Mary, Queen of Scots – cousin of Lady Jane Grey
Edward Seymour, duke of Somerset – Lord Protector under Edward VI
John Dudley, duke of Northumberland – president of the council under Edward VI, father of Guildford Dudley
Thomas Cranmer – Archbishop of Canterbury
Thomas Seymour – brother of Edward Seymour and husband of Catherine Parr
Thomas Harding – tutor of Lady Jane Grey, family chaplain
John Aylmer and Michelangelo Florio – tutors of Lady Jane Grey
Catherine of Aragon – 1st wife of Henry VIII, mother of Mary
Anne Boleyn – 2nd wife of Henry VIII, mother of Elizabeth
Catherine Howard – 5th wife of Henry VIII
Catherine Parr – 6th wife of Henry VIII
Alison Plowden – Historian
Richard II – King of England (1377-99)
Henry IV – King of England (1399-1413), known as Henry Bolingbroke before his reign
CREDITS
Alfonso Ferabosco – Amor Mia Sprona
BalGas9
gidion owi-spit
aarnnoo – woman crying
metzik – medieval market
