Book Review – The Sisters Who Would Be Queen
The Tragedy of Mary, Katherine and Lady Jane Grey
Oct 17, 2009
The Grey sisters were dynamic individuals in their own right who survived during turbulent times.
A royal marriage could gain a kingdom or cost everything.
Lady Jane Grey, best remembered as ‘Nine Days Queen’, was mythologised as an icon of helpless innocence sacrificed by her controlling parents to political expedience.
De Lisle debunks the many myths surrounding Jane’s life, and throws new light on Elizabeth I’s reign. Jane was certainly not the victim portrayed in history, but she was a rebellious teenager determined to rule in her own right as a leading evangelical.
A portrait of the hideous Lady Dacre and her son was often mistaken for Frances and her second husband, Adrian Stokes, since the 18th Century—cementing her reputation as hideous, domineering and cruel. (Frances’ effigy at Westminster Abbey contradicts these claims.)
Mary Tudor
Henry VIII’s younger sister Mary and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk fell from royal favour when they opposed his marriage to Anne Boleyn. (Mary also bitterly resented giving precedence to a commoner.)
So Jane’s mother, Frances, was married to Henry Grey, Marquess of Dorset. Grey belonged to an ancient lineage, including royal connections, where children were political and financial assets.
It was no surprise Jane, Katherine and Mary became caught up in the succession crisis following Henry VIII’s death.
Edward VI excluded his half-sisters and his Scottish cousins from the succession in favour of Frances and her children. These Tudor princesses were now thrust into the spotlight.
Female heirs were regarded as a liability and “unnatural”, so the Grey sisters and their cousin Margaret Clifford were quickly married off to provide the necessary male heir.
He feared Mary, as a Catholic, would reverse his Protestant reforms.
Nine Days Queen
Jane was ready to embrace her role as Queen, once the Council assured her she was Edward’s rightful heir, and take possession of the Tower of London on the eve of her coronation.
However, Mary’s letter to the Council, marked with the royal seal, informed them that she, not Jane, was the rightful heir and demanded their allegiance.
The English rallied to Mary’s cause. Jane was deposed and later executed.
Jane exhorted Katherine to “learn how to die” for her faith.
Katherine ignored her sister’s plea and changed her religion to gain royal favour during Mary’s reign.
Surviving Royal Displeasure
Her marriage to Edward Seymour incurred Elizabeth I’s wrath, especially when Katherine produced a son. Elizabeth declared the boy illegitimate but his parents were determined to fight for his place in the succession.
The youngest sister Mary was deemed ugly, deformed and of no significance until she married without the Queen’s permission. They were separated, with her husband Thomas Keyes imprisoned in London and Mary imprisoned at Chequers (now the British Prime Minister’s country home), with a family friend acting as her gaoler.
Katherine and Mary Grey’s stories are played out against the backdrop of international politics, including Elizabeth I’s relationship with Mary Queen of Scots.
The Sisters Who Would Be Queen also focuses on Katherine’s descendants. Her eldest son married an unsuitable girl. (Miss Honora Rogers belonged to a respectable, rather than grand, family.)
History repeated itself with Katherine’s grandson, Edward, who also married without the Queen’s permission.
Publication Details
The Sisters Who Would Be Queen is published by HarperCollins Publishers, London, 2008
Hardback ISBN - 978-0-00-721905-6
Trade Paperback ISBN - 978-0-00-728043-8
