A Nine-Day Wonder

The saying “A Nine day wonder” refers to someone or something that causes interest or excitement for a short time but is soon forgotten. There have been many examples in history, but none so tragic as the story of Lady Jane Grey, or shall we say Queen Jane for although she is rarely mentioned in English history, she was indeed Queen of England for nine days! My father must have read something of her story because I remember a comment he once made about what he called, ”the terrible thing that was done to that girl”. I have often wondered why I did not question him further at the time for I loved a good story and was particularly fond of British history, especially anything dealing with the monarchy. Today, I can only guess as to why, and many years later I probably thought I’d forgotten it. It was however, simply tucked away in one of the many compartments of the human brain waiting to brought to life by a click on the mouse of that greatest of all computers.

That click was not to come until the 1980’s and my father had long since made his transition to that higher life. I was married with a family when watching TV one night I saw a preview of a movie that would be seen later that week. Having little interest, I was about to switch channels when the name of the movie flashed on the screen, it was LADY JANE GREY. Click! I was immediately transported back to the 1950’s and my father’s words. I knew then and there that I had to watch the movie. Directed by Trevor Nunn and staring Helena Bonham Carter, it was an excellent production, although as I would later learn, was not always historically correct.

Lady Jane Grey was born in 1537 and was the granddaughter of Mary, sister of King Henry VIII. As a child she was well educated and at the age of nine was sent to court under the guardianship of Queen Katherine Parr, the sixth and last of Henry’s wives. Jane’s parents had hopes that she would marry Edward, Henry’s only son and heir to the throne. Edward, who became king at the age of ten and died at 15, was under the Protectorship of John Dudley, Earl of Northumberland and was never more than a puppet king. Dudley, knowing that if the throne passed to Edward’s sister Mary, the next in line, he would most certainly lose power and probably his head, convinced the young king, while on his deathbed, to will the throne to his cousin, Lady Jane Grey. Together with Jane’s parents, he now plotted for his youngest son to marry Jane and thus become King of England. Jane hardly knew Guildford Dudley and did not want to marry the son of a man she openly despised, but she was nevertheless bullied into the marriage. With Edward’s passing John Dudley convinced the council that Mary was unfit to be Queen, in that her parents had divorced and the fact that she was Catholic, the church from which her father had broken all ties. He also intimidated the council into declaring Lady Jane Grey as Queen in compliance with the boy king’s wishes.