Lady Jane Grey Read online

  For Michael

  While the events described and some of the characters in this book may be based on actual historical events and real people, this story is a work of fiction.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title page

  Dedication

  19 January 1547 Bradgate Park, Leicestershire

  25 January 1547 Bradgate Park

  31 January 1547 Bradgate Park

  5 February 1547 Bradgate Park

  11 February 1547 An inn, I forget the name

  13 February 1547 Dorset Place

  14 February 1547 Dorset Place

  15 February 1547 Dorset Place

  17 February 1547 Seymour Place

  18 February 1547 Seymour Place

  19 February 1547 Seymour Place

  21 February 1547 Seymour Place

  10 March 1547 Seymour Place

  15 March 1547 Seymour Place

  17 March 1547 Seymour Place

  25 March 1547 Seymour Place

  20 April 1547 Seymour Place

  10 May 1547 Seymour Place

  20 May 1547 Chelsea Place

  1 June 1547 Chelsea Place

  17 June 1547 Chelsea Place

  10 July 1547 Chelsea Place

  12 July 1547 Chelsea Place

  3 January 1548 Chelsea Place

  25 January 1548 Chelsea Place

  5 February 1548 Chelsea Place

  10 February 1548 Chelsea Place

  1 March 1548 Chelsea Place

  10 April 1548 Chelsea Place

  12 April 1548 Chelsea Place

  4 May 1548 Chelsea Place

  5 May 1548 Chelsea Place

  7 May 1548 Chelsea Place

  12 May 1548 Chelsea Place

  1 June 1548 Chelsea Place

  5 July 1548 Sudeley Castle

  15 July 1548 Sudeley Castle

  3 August 1548 Sudeley Castle

  11 August 1548 Sudeley Castle

  30 August 1548 Sudeley Castle

  Late

  31 August 1548 Sudeley Castle

  1 September 1548 Sudeley Castle

  2 September 1548 Sudeley Castle

  3 September 1548 Sudeley Castle

  5 September 1548 Sudeley Castle

  7 September 1548 The Queen’s funeral, Sudeley Castle

  22 September 1548 Sudeley Castle

  25 September 1548 Sudeley Castle

  30 September 1548 Bradgate Park

  14 October 1548 Bradgate Park

  16 October 1548 Bradgate Park

  21 October 1548 Bradgate Park

  22 October 1548 Bradgate Park

  27 October 1548 An inn, outside the city

  29 October 1548 Seymour Place

  8 November 1548 Seymour Place

  15 December 1548 Seymour Place

  20 December 1548 Seymour Place

  21 December 1548 Seymour Place

  23 December 1548 Seymour Place

  10 January 1549 Seymour Place

  12 January 1549 Seymour Place

  13 January 1549 Dorset Place

  18 January 1549 Dorset Place

  25 January 1549 Dorset Place

  23 February 1549 Dorset Place

  19 March 1549 Dorset Place

  21 March 1549 Dorset Place

  24 March 1549 Dorset Place

  2 April 1549 Dorset Place

  16 May 1549 Bradgate Park

  17 May 1549 Bradgate Park

  30 May 1549 Bradgate Park

  Whitsuntide 1549 Bradgate Park

  16 June 1549 Bradgate Park

  17 June 1549 Bradgate Park

  20 August 1549 Bradgate Park

  1 September 1549 Bradgate Park

  12 September 1549 Bradgate Park

  1 October 1549 Bradgate Park

  9 October 1549 Bradgate Park

  16 October 1549 Bradgate Park

  20 October 1549 Bradgate Park

  21 October 1549 Bradgate Park

  19 November 1549 Tilty

  29 November 1549 Hunsdon

  30 November 1549 Hunsdon

  Christmas 1549 Tilty

  10 February 1550 Dorset Place

  15 March 1550 Dorset Place

  2 May 1550 Dorset Place

  3 June 1550 Dorset Place

  10 August 1550 Bradgate Park

  12 August 1550 Bradgate Park

  31 December 1550 Bradgate Park

  1 January 1551 Bradgate Park

  15 March 1551 Dorset Place

  25 March 1551 Dorset Place

  18 April 1551 Dorset Place

  20 May 1551 Bradgate Park

  21 May 1551 Bradgate Park

  29 May 1551 Bradgate Park

  15 July 1551 Bradgate Park

  18 July 1551 Bradgate Park

  19 July 1551 Bradgate Park

  28 September 1551 Bradgate Park

  29 September 1551 Bradgate Park

  30 September 1551 Bradgate Park

  1 October 1551 Bradgate Park

  8 October 1551 Court

  9 October 1551 Court

  10 October 1551 Court

  11 October 1551 Court

  15 October 1551 Court

  17 October 1551 Dorset Place

  18 October 1551 Dorset Place

  19 October 1551 Court

  25 October 1551 Suffolk Place

  31 October 1551 Suffolk Place

  3 November 1551 Suffolk Place

  5 November 1551 Suffolk Place

  6 November 1551 Suffolk Place

  1 December 1551 Suffolk Place

  2 December 1551 Suffolk Place

  8 December 1551 Suffolk Place

  Christmas 1551 Suffolk Place

  New Year 1552 Suffolk Place

  Twelfth Night – 6 January 1552 Court

  22 January 1552 Suffolk Place

  5 March 1552 Suffolk Place

  2 April 1552 Suffolk Place

  23 April 1552 – St George’s Day Suffolk Place

  10 May 1552 Bradgate Park

  20 August 1552 Sheen, Richmond

  22 August 1552 Sheen, Richmond

  25 August 1552 Sheen, Richmond

  28 August 1552 Sheen, Richmond

  1 January 1553 Court

  6 February 1553 Court

  10 February 1553 Court

  10 March 1553 Sheen, Richmond

  11 April 1553 Suffolk Place

  14 April 1553 Suffolk Place

  26 April 1553 Suffolk Place

  28 April 1553 Suffolk Place

  18 May 1553 Suffolk Place

  Whitsuntide 25 May 1553 Durham House

  26 May 1553 Durham House

  3 June 1553 Suffolk Place

  4 June 1553 Suffolk Place

  10 June 1553 Durham House

  18 June 1553 Suffolk Place

  19 June 1553 Suffolk Place

  26 June 1553 Suffolk Place

  29 June 1553 Suffolk Place

  1 July 1553 Suffolk Place

  2 July 1553 Durham House

  3 July 1553 Durham House

  4 July 1553 Chelsea Place

  9 July 1553 Syon, Richmond

  10 July 1553 The Tower of London

  11 July 1553 The Tower of London

  12 July 1553 The Tower of London

  13 July 1553 The Tower of London

  14 July 1553 The Tower of London

  16 July 1553 The Tower of London

  17 July 1553 The Tower of London

  18 July 1553 The Tower of London

  19 July 1553, morning, The Tower of London

  Later

  19 July 1553, night, The Tower of London

  25 July 1553 The Tower of London

  26 July 1553 The Tower of London

  27 July 1553 The Tower of London

  3 Au
gust 1553 The Tower of London

  Later

  8 August 1553 The Tower of London

  13 August 1553 The Tower of London

  21 August 1553 The Tower of London

  22 August 1553 The Tower of London

  28 August 1553 The Tower of London

  31 August 1553 The Tower of London

  10 October 1553 The Tower of London

  10 November 1553 The Tower of London

  13 November 1553 The Tower of London

  20 November 1553 The Tower of London

  18 December 1553 The Tower of London

  5 January 1554 The Tower of London

  6 January 1554 The Tower of London

  2 February 1554 The Tower of London

  3 February 1554 The Tower of London

  6 February 1554 The Tower of London

  7 February 1554 The Tower of London

  8 February, 1554 The Tower of London

  9 February 1554 The Tower of London

  11 February 1554 The Tower of London

  Historical note

  Timeline

  My story Augustus

  Copyright

  19 January 1547

  Bradgate Park, Leicestershire

  Today I kept my promise to Edward and began my diary. He has sent me a beautiful book to write it in. It is bound in red velvet and has a gold clasp and key. I will lock it every night, and hang the key under my bodice. I am trying to find a safe place to keep it in. My sister Katherine is very nosy and I do not want her to find it.

  I am calling it the chronicle of Lady Jane Grey. Edward has begun a chronicle too. He told me about it when I last saw him, at Court. “My tutor Master Cheke told me I should write a diary,” he said. “He says it will be good for my writing and help me to write my thoughts clearly.”

  “I have never written a diary,” I told him.

  “Then you must,” he said. “I command you to!” We both burst out laughing. The courtiers who were in the chamber – Edward is seldom on his own – looked at us curiously. Edward doesn’t laugh often. But he is my favourite cousin. He likes to study as much as me. I wish I saw him more often. We are the same age, but I will be ten first!

  I had almost forgotten my promise when a messenger galloped up to the house this morning and my nurse summoned me. She told me I was wanted below. A package had arrived for me. I was excited and ran downstairs. The messenger had ridden all the way from London to bring it to me, and that is a very long way – several days’ hard ride from my home, Bradgate Park, in Leicestershire.

  The messenger bowed and said, “Are you the Lady Jane Grey?”

  “I am,” I told him.

  “Then this is for you,” he said. With a flourish he handed me the package.

  “Who is it from?” I said turning it over in my hands. It was wrapped in fine cloth and felt hard like a book.

  “That I cannot say,” he said. “I was told to tell you that it comes from the Court. And I was to put it into no other hands but yours.”

  You see! Who else could it be from but my cousin? I understand him and he understands me. I am so pleased with my book. I will try and write neatly in it and not blot the pages. It will be a great comfort to me I am sure, for I can say in it whatever I like. Mother says I am too apt to say what I think and it is not always what she wants to hear. I will write down important things too so that when I am old and forgetful like my nurse, I can look back and remember how I felt when I was nearly ten.

  25 January 1547

  Bradgate Park

  I heard the servants gossiping this morning while they swept out the old rushes in the great chamber. (I am glad they did. It stinks.) They think the King will die soon. It was lucky no one but me heard them. It is treason to talk about the King’s death.

  The King has been ailing as long as I can remember. He can barely walk and has to be winched into his chair by pulleys. The last time Mother took me to Court I saw him carried in it down a long passage by his servants, shouting at them to be careful. He looked like a great fat pincushion, stuck with jewels. I curtsied but I don’t think he remembered who I was (I am his great-niece). His eyes were screwed up with pain. I felt sorry for him, even though I know he had wanted to put away his wife, Queen Katherine. The Queen is a good, kind and learned woman. Edward loves her and so do I. I want to be just like her when I grow up.

  My mother is one of Queen Katherine’s ladies of the chamber. She says that when I am older – if I am a good girl – I will go to Court and serve the Queen, too. I cannot think that that time will ever come. My parents chastise me A LOT and say that I have much to learn still.

  They always say it is for my own good, but I do not know why. My tutor Master Aylmer does not need to beat me to make me work hard. And I strive to be an obedient and dutiful daughter to them.

  I must put away my diary now. It is nearly time for lessons and I must finish my translation or Dr Aylmer will be displeased with me. I am learning Greek and can read and write it quite well now.

  31 January 1547

  Bradgate Park

  I have something very important to write in my journal today. The old king has died – and my cousin Edward is now king. I am sure he will be a very good one. He is being brought up a Protestant like me. Protestants do not believe like Catholics that you need the Pope or priests to explain God’s word. And we don’t believe in purgatory, or confessing your sins to a priest, or paying money to go to heaven. Catholics even think that the bread and wine you take at communion is actually the body and blood of Christ (ugh!).

  King Henry is to be buried at Windsor. Father – who is Marquess of Dorset – will be very busy arranging the funeral and Edward’s coronation too.

  Edward will have to go to the Tower soon. That is the palace in London where all new monarchs begin their reign. If I were queen I would change that ancient law. The Tower of London is a horrible place, a fortress and prison as well as a royal palace. I would hate to spend a single night inside its walls even if I was queen. Terrible things happen in the Tower. People have their heads cut off or are tortured and left to rot in its dungeons. Edward will stay in the royal apartments, of course. They will be richly furnished, the walls hung with tapestries and sweet herbs strewn among the rushes to make the chambers smell sweet. And as soon as King Henry is buried all the black drapes that are put up when a monarch dies will be taken down and the city made ready for Edward’s coronation. I feel sorry for my cousin though. Who would want to be king? I cannot think of anything I would like less. My sister Katherine cannot understand why. She is not at all like me. She would like to go to Court and wear a new gown every day.

  5 February 1547

  Bradgate Park

  I am writing lying on my bed. My nurse Mistress Ellen sits sewing by the window, my gowns heaped around her. She is in a mighty pother! My parents have summoned me to London and she says I have nothing fit to wear. One gown is stained, another is too short and I am bursting out of a third. I do not know why they have sent for me. Sir John Harington rode up yesterday, bringing a letter from Father, but all I have been told is that my parents have important news for me. We are to leave as soon as I can be got ready. Sir John will escort me to London. He is a gentleman in the service of Father’s friend, Sir Thomas Seymour.

  I wish I did not have to go. Every time I think about it, my stomach ties itself in knots. Nurse says that I am a lucky girl. “You will see the King’s coronation procession,” she told me. “What girl does not want to see a young king crowned? And he is your cousin too!” She smiled. “I saw your great-uncle King Henry crowned when I was not much older than you.” She sighed. “He was so handsome. All the girls were in love with him.” In spite of myself I giggled. How could anyone have been in love with King Henry. He was so fat!

  I have a pile of books by my bed. Nurse says we will never fit them all in, but I said she must try. I love my nurse dearly, but she doesn’t understand h
ow important my books are to me. They are like my best friends. I am happiest of all when I am left in peace with them.

  Katherine would like to go. I wish she could – I wish she could go instead of me. I have promised to write and tell her all about it.

  11 February 1547

  An inn, I forget the name

  I do not know what the hour is or how long I have been sitting here, my feet tucked under me for warmth. I cannot sleep. My candle has burned down nearly to a stub, but the moon throws a pool of light into the room so I can see well enough to write. My nurse sleeps soundly. I envy her. She has no fears about what the morning will bring. I have lost count how many nights it is since we left Bradgate. Tonight is our last night on the road. Tomorrow we reach Westminster. I had rather not think about that so will try to distract myself by writing about our journey. We are staying at an inn. Our arrival caused much excitement. People came out to gawp at us – people always do I’ve noticed. They stare at my fine clothes, and the carts packed with chests and boxes. The innkeeper was summoned and was in such a fluster when he learnt who we were that his foot slipped on a frozen puddle and down he went causing much merriment among the onlookers. He didn’t find it funny and boxed the ears of the poor stable hand who ran up to tend to our horses. His wife escorted us to our chambers and we were brought small beer and a platter of cold meats. But I felt too tired and nervous to eat much. One of my women slid a pan into the bed to warm the sheets and I knelt by it to say my prayers – at least I said the words but they did not mean anything. I can only pray that God understands! And that no harm befalls me this night. If only I could forget that tomorrow I will be home in London.

  13 February 1547

  Dorset Place

  I found a big bite on my leg this morning and am trying not to scratch it. There were bugs in my bed at the inn. But I would rather sleep in a bug-ridden bed than amongst the softest cleanest sheets at home.

  We arrived home by nightfall yesterday. The time flew – I felt as if I had barely been lifted back into the saddle before I heard Sir John’s hearty voice say “London” and saw him lift his whip to point out the spire of St Paul’s church. It was not far enough away for my liking and I turned away my face. With each clatter of the horses’ hoofs we were drawing nearer and nearer to my parents’ house where I would find out why they had summoned me. We reached London just as the bells rang out, warning us that the gates were shutting for the night. My parents’ house, Dorset Place, is a little way outside the city, on a street called the Strand, which runs between London and Westminster. It was dark as we rode down it and Sir John hired a link boy to light our way.