Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Encyclopedia
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, KG
(17 January 1517 – 23 February 1554) was an English
nobleman of the Tudor period
and the father of Lady Jane Grey.
and of Margaret Wotton; through his father he was a great-grandson of Elizabeth Woodville
, the queen of Edward IV of England, by her first marriage to Sir John Grey of Groby
. Before 1530, Grey was betrothed to Kathrine, the daughter of William FitzAlan, 18th Earl of Arundel
. Henry Grey became the 3rd Marquess of Dorset
in 1530 after his father died. In 1533, with the permission of King Henry VIII
he married Lady Frances Brandon
(1517–1559), the daughter of Henry VIII’s sister Mary Tudor
and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
. The couple had three children who survived infancy: Lady Jane Grey
(1537–1554), Lady Catherine Grey
(1540–1568), and Lady Mary Grey (1545–1578).
Before Henry VIII's death in 1547, Grey became a fixture in court circles. A knight of the Bath, he was the king's sword bearer at Anne Boleyn
's coronation in 1533, at Anne of Cleves
' arrival in 1540, and at the capture of Boulogne
in 1545. Twice he bore the Cap of Maintenance
in parliament. He helped lead the army in France in 1545. In 1547 he joined the Order of the Garter
.
government, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
and Protector of England. Returning to his home in Bradgate
, Leicestershire
, Grey concentrated on raising his family to greater heights. Thus, with the Protector's brother Thomas Lord Seymour
, Grey conspired to have his daughter Jane married to the King. This plot failed, ending in Seymour's execution, but Grey emerged unscathed.
In 1549, John Dudley, Earl of Warwick
, overthrew the Protectorship and secured power by appointing loyal friends to the Privy Council. Grey joined the Council as a part of this group. In July of 1551 his wife's younger half-brother, Charles Brandon, 3rd Duke of Suffolk
, died. Henry Grey was created Duke of Suffolk jure uxoris
on 11 October 1551, in the same ceremony that elevated John Dudley to the Dukedom of Northumberland.
granted Northumberland's request for the marriage of Suffolk's daughter Jane to Northumberland's son, Lord Guildford Dudley, on 21 May 1553. Edward later altered his will to make Jane his designated successor. Edward died on 6 July 1553, and three days later Suffolk, Northumberland, and other members of the Privy Council proclaimed Jane queen. This proclamation failed, with a large-scale rallying of forces in the country to Henry VIII's eldest daughter, Mary I
.
By his wife's friendship with the new Queen Mary, Grey and his daughter and son-in-law temporarily avoided execution. However, Mary had Henry Grey beheaded on 23 February 1554, after his conviction for high treason
for his part in Sir Thomas Wyatt
's attempt (January – February 1554) to overthrow her after she announced her intention to marry Philip II of Spain
.
According to the archives of Ripley's Believe It or Not!
the severed head of the Duke was discovered in a vault in London's Holy Trinity church perfectly preserved by oak sawdust from the scaffold on which he had been executed, 297 years earlier.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
(17 January 1517 – 23 February 1554) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
nobleman of the Tudor period
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
and the father of Lady Jane Grey.
Henry VIII's reign
The son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of DorsetThomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset
Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, KG, KB was an English peer, courtier, soldier and landowner, the grandfather of Lady Jane Grey, briefly Queen of England.-Early life:...
and of Margaret Wotton; through his father he was a great-grandson of Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
, the queen of Edward IV of England, by her first marriage to Sir John Grey of Groby
John Grey of Groby
Sir John Grey, of Groby, Leicestershire was a Lancastrian knight, the great-great-grandfather of Lady Jane Grey.-Titles:...
. Before 1530, Grey was betrothed to Kathrine, the daughter of William FitzAlan, 18th Earl of Arundel
William FitzAlan, 18th Earl of Arundel
William FitzAlan, 18th Earl of Arundel, 8th Baron Maltravers was an English peer, styled as Lord Maltravers from 1487 to 1524....
. Henry Grey became the 3rd Marquess of Dorset
Marquess of Dorset
The title Marquess of Dorset has been created three times in the Peerage of England. It was first created in 1397 for John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, but he lost the title two years later. It was then created in 1442 for Edmund Beaufort, 1st Earl of Dorset, who was created Duke of Somerset...
in 1530 after his father died. In 1533, with the permission of King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
he married Lady Frances Brandon
Lady Frances Brandon
Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk , born Lady Frances Brandon, was the second child and eldest daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Mary Tudor, Dowager Queen of France...
(1517–1559), the daughter of Henry VIII’s sister Mary Tudor
Mary Tudor (queen consort of France)
Mary Tudor was the younger sister of King Henry VIII of England and queen consort of France through her marriage to Louis XII. The latter was more than 30 years her senior. Following his death, which occurred less than two months after her coronation as his third wife, she married Charles Brandon,...
and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG was the son of Sir William Brandon and Elizabeth Bruyn. Through his third wife Mary Tudor he was brother-in-law to Henry VIII. His father was the standard-bearer of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and was slain by Richard III in person at...
. The couple had three children who survived infancy: Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
(1537–1554), Lady Catherine Grey
Lady Catherine Grey
Lady Catherine Grey , Countess of Hertford, was the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey. A granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary, she was a potential successor to her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, but incurred Elizabeth's wrath by her secret marriage to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford...
(1540–1568), and Lady Mary Grey (1545–1578).
Before Henry VIII's death in 1547, Grey became a fixture in court circles. A knight of the Bath, he was the king's sword bearer at Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
's coronation in 1533, at Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...
' arrival in 1540, and at the capture of Boulogne
Siege of Boulogne
There were two sieges of Boulogne, in the Pas-de-Calais, during the Italian War of 1542–1546. Boulogne was fortified and defended as an English possession on the French mainland between 14 September 1544 and March 1550.- First siege :...
in 1545. Twice he bore the Cap of Maintenance
Cap of Maintenance
A Cap of Maintenance is a ceremonial cap of crimson velvet lined with ermine, which is worn or carried by certain persons as a sign of nobility or special honour. It is worn with the high part to the fore, the tapering tail behind...
in parliament. He helped lead the army in France in 1545. In 1547 he joined the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
.
Edward VI's reign
After Henry VIII's death in 1547, Grey fell out of favour with the leader of King Edward VI'sEdward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
government, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
and Protector of England. Returning to his home in Bradgate
Bradgate Park
Bradgate Park is a public park in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire, England, just northwest of Leicester. It covers 850 acres . The park lies between the villages of Newtown Linford, Anstey, Cropston, Woodhouse Eaves and Swithland. The River Lin runs through the park, flowing into Cropston...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, Grey concentrated on raising his family to greater heights. Thus, with the Protector's brother Thomas Lord Seymour
Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley
Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, KG was an English politician.Thomas spent his childhood in Wulfhall, outside Savernake Forest, in Wiltshire. Historian David Starkey describes Thomas thus: 'tall, well-built and with a dashing beard and auburn hair, he was irresistible to women'...
, Grey conspired to have his daughter Jane married to the King. This plot failed, ending in Seymour's execution, but Grey emerged unscathed.
In 1549, John Dudley, Earl of Warwick
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
, overthrew the Protectorship and secured power by appointing loyal friends to the Privy Council. Grey joined the Council as a part of this group. In July of 1551 his wife's younger half-brother, Charles Brandon, 3rd Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 3rd Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 3rd Duke of Suffolk , known as Lord Charles Brandon until shortly before his death, was the son of the 1st Duke of Suffolk and the suo jure 12th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby....
, died. Henry Grey was created Duke of Suffolk jure uxoris
Jure uxoris
Jure uxoris is a Latin term that means "by right of his wife" or "in right of a wife". It is commonly used to refer to a title held by a man whose wife holds it in her own right. In other words, he acquired the title simply by being her husband....
on 11 October 1551, in the same ceremony that elevated John Dudley to the Dukedom of Northumberland.
Protestantism
Henry Grey was best known for his zeal for the Protestant faith. The Swiss reformer Henry Bullinger dedicated a book to him in 1551 and frequently corresponded with the family. In Parliament and on the Privy Council, Grey pushed for further Protestant reforms. He is credited for making Leicestershire one of the most reliably Protestant counties in early modern England.Queen Jane
Seriously ill, and fearing his own death, King Edward VIEdward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
granted Northumberland's request for the marriage of Suffolk's daughter Jane to Northumberland's son, Lord Guildford Dudley, on 21 May 1553. Edward later altered his will to make Jane his designated successor. Edward died on 6 July 1553, and three days later Suffolk, Northumberland, and other members of the Privy Council proclaimed Jane queen. This proclamation failed, with a large-scale rallying of forces in the country to Henry VIII's eldest daughter, Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
.
By his wife's friendship with the new Queen Mary, Grey and his daughter and son-in-law temporarily avoided execution. However, Mary had Henry Grey beheaded on 23 February 1554, after his conviction for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
for his part in Sir Thomas Wyatt
Thomas Wyatt the younger
Sir Thomas Wyatt the younger was a rebel leader during the reign of Queen Mary I of England; his rising is traditionally called "Wyatt's rebellion".-Birth and career:...
's attempt (January – February 1554) to overthrow her after she announced her intention to marry Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
.
According to the archives of Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Ripley's Believe It or Not! is a franchise, founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims...
the severed head of the Duke was discovered in a vault in London's Holy Trinity church perfectly preserved by oak sawdust from the scaffold on which he had been executed, 297 years earlier.
In popular culture
- Henry Grey is featured in the 2007 historical fiction novel Innocent TraitorInnocent TraitorInnocent Traitor is a historical novel by Alison Weir, published in 2007. It is the story of Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for 9 days in 1553.-Summary:...
by author Alison WeirAlison WeirAlison Weir is a British writer of history books, and latterly historical novels, mostly in the form of biographies about British royalty.-Personal life:...
, which is a fictionalised story about his daughter, Lady Jane GreyLady Jane GreyLady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
as an abusive, ambitious parent. - He has been played on screen by Miles MallesonMiles MallesonWilliam Miles Malleson was an English actor and dramatist, particularly known for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles in several Hammer horror films, with a fairly large role in The Brides of Dracula as the...
in Tudor RoseTudor Rose (film)Tudor Rose is a 1936 British film starring Cedric Hardwicke and Nova Pilbeam and directed by Robert Stevenson....
and Patrick StewartPatrick StewartSir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
in Lady JaneLady Jane (film)Lady Jane is a 1986 British costume drama romance film directed by Trevor Nunn, written by David Edgar, and starring Helena Bonham Carter as the title character in her first major film role. It tells the story of Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days' Queen, on her reign and romance with husband Lord...
. - The Suffolk based crust/metal band Meadows' song "The Head of Henry Grey" is about a man who has come into possession of the severed head of Henry Grey and delights in showing it around the public houses of Woodbridge, SuffolkWoodbridge, SuffolkWoodbridge is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. It is in the East of England, not far from the coast. It lies along the River Deben, with a population of about 7,480. The town is served by Woodbridge railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line. Woodbridge is twinned with...
.