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Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane Grey was Queen of England for nine days. She was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII and a cousin of Edward VI. Henry VTII was her uncle. Beautiful and extremely erudite, she was much admired by the great scholars of the day. No doubt a little full of herself, she was persuaded to become involved in a project to alter the line of royal succession from the Tudors to the Dudleys, the family of the Dukes of Northumberland.

To this end she was married to Guildford Dudley, the Duke's son, on 21 May 1553. The announcement of her accession to the throne was made on 10 July but her reign was brought to an abrupt end on 19 July with her arrest by the forces of Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII by Catherine of Aragon. She was sentenced to death and, along with her husband, was beheaded on Tower Hill on 12 February 1554.

Since that time there have been many reports of sighting of them both. The ghost of Guildford has been reported weeping silently in the Beauchamp Tower, where he awaited his execution, and Lady Jane has also been seen many times.

One of the best documented sightings happened on 12 February 1957 when a guard at the Tower, called Johns, saw Lady Jane Grey on the battlement above the place where he stood. He called to his colleague who also saw the spirit. It was 403 years to the day since her execution.Bristol | Samlesbury Hall |