Lord Guildford Dudley

Lord Guildford Dudley was the husband of Lady Jane Grey who, declared as his heir by King Edward VI, occupied the English throne from 10160July until 19160July 1553. Guildford Dudley enjoyed a humanist education and was married to Jane in a magnificent celebration about six weeks before the Kings death. After Guildfords father, the Duke of Northumberland, had engineered Janes accession, Jane and Guildford spent her brief rule residing in the Tower of London. They were still in the Tower when their regime collapsed and remained there, in different quarters, as prisoners. They were condemned to death for high treason in November 1553. Queen Mary I was inclined to spare their lives, but Thomas Wyatts rebellion against her plans to marry Philip of Spain led to the young couples execution, a measure that was widely seen as unduly harsh.

The Dudley childrenthere were thirteen born in allgrew up in a Protestant household and enjoyed a humanist education. Under the young King Edward VI, Guildfords father became Lord President of the Privy Council and de facto ruled England from 15501553. The chronicler Richard Grafton, who knew him, described Guildford as a comely, virtuous and goodly gentleman. In 1552 Northumberland unsuccessfully tried to marry Guildford to Margaret Clifford, a cousin of Jane Grey. Instead, in the spring of 1553, Guildford was engaged to the sixteenyearold Jane Grey herself. Jane Grey figured higher in the line of succession than Margaret Clifford. OnMay 1553, three weddings were celebrated at Durham Place, the Duke of Northumberlands town mansion. Guildford married Jane, his sister Katherine was matched with Henry Hastings, the Earl of Huntingdons heir, and another Catherine, Janes sister, married Lord Herbert, the heir of the Earl of Pembroke. It was a magnificent festival, with jousts, games, a

Source: Wikipedia