The Forgotten Duchess

Jane Dudley and the Fall of the Dudley Dynasty 
 
What happens when you’re married to one of the most powerful men in England—only to see it all come crashing down?
 
Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland, lived through a series of devastating events that could have destroyed her. She saw her family rise to incredible heights and then fall dramatically from grace. But her story isn’t just about tragedy—it’s about resilience, quiet strength, and survival in the cutthroat world of Tudor politics.
 
On this day in Tudor history, 15th January 1555, Jane Dudley passed away. But her legacy, through her children and her loyalty to her cause, endures.
 
How did this forgotten duchess navigate the dangerous world of the Tudor court? And what price did her family pay for ambition?
 
Let’s uncover the story of a woman who, despite incredible loss, left a lasting mark on English history. 
 
#TudorHistory #DudleyDynasty #JaneDudley #HistoricalMysteries #OnThisDay #HistoryTok #TudorEngland #RoyalDrama #WomenInHistory #Resilience

My Lady Jane – A Travesty to History or a Fun Romp?

Today, I’ve got a bit of a confession to make – I’ve started watching My Lady Jane on Amazon Prime and I’m loving it. From social media comments, I gather that as a historian, I’m meant to hate it, but nope, I love it!
Based on the book by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, it’s a fantasy with only a passing resemblance to actual history. Think The Princess Bride with shape-shifters and regicidal maniacs. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, packed with adventure, and has an amazing cast.
So, put history aside and just have fun with it. If it gets people googling Lady Jane Grey, then that's brilliant. Now, excuse me, episode 5 is waiting!
#MyLadyJane #TudorHistory #AmazonPrime #HistoricalFantasy #FunRomp

The Tudors in their own words - Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane Grey, or Queen Jane, was a highly intelligent young woman and a staunch Protestant, and in today's "The Tudors in their own words", historian Claire Ridgway shares a couple of quotes from Jane regarding religion.

The Tudors in their own words - Queen Jane/Lady Jane Grey writes to her sister

Becoming Elizabeth - Episode 3 - Either Learn or Be Silent

Trigger alert - some discussion of the abuse Elizabeth I suffered.
In this week’s episode of Becoming Elizabeth, episode 3 "Either Learn or Be Silent", things come to a head between Thomas Seymour and Elizabeth, but is historian Claire Ridgway still angry, or has she calmed down? How does she feel about the Elizabeth and Seymour storyline and just how close was this episode to history?
Claire looks at what history tells us about Seymour's behaviour with Elizabeth, including the dress-slashing scenes, as well as looking at the timeline of events, the Mary/Elizabeth letter storyline, Elizabeth's 15th birthday, Elizabeth and Lady Jane Grey, the Greys, Edward VI and Lord Protector Somerset, Pedro de Negro and Catherine Parr's feelings about her pregnancy. Phew!
The link to Susan Higginbotham's article on Frances Grey - https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/the-maligned-frances-grey-guest-post-by-susan-higginbotham/
The link to Miranda Kaufmann's article on Pedro de Negro - http://www.mirandakaufmann.com/pedro-negro.html

18 Interesting Facts about Lady Jane Grey (Queen Jane)

In this latest edition in her "Facts about..." series, historian Claire Ridgway shares 18 interesting facts about Lady Jane Grey, or Queen Jane, who is also known as "The Nine Day Queen".
 
Find out more about the fourth Tudor monarch from Claire. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/acYkWVtO9CA
 
Book recommendations:
The Sisters Who Would Be Queen - Leanda de Lisle
Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery - Eric Ives
 
--
Claire RidgwayHistorian and author, founder of the Anne Boleyn Files and Tudor Societywww.theanneboleynfiles.comwww.tudorsociety.com
www.elizabethfiles.comhttps://twitter.com/AnneBoleynFileshttp://www.facebook.com/theanneboleynfiles
https://www.instagram.com/anneboleynfiles/https://twitter.com/thetudorsocietyhttps://www.facebook.com/tudorsociety/
https://www.instagram.com/tudor.society/
 

25 May - Lady Jane Grey gets married

On this day in Tudor history, 25th May 1553, in the reign of King Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey married Lord Guildford Dudley.
The bride and groom were from prominent families, but there is the prevailing idea that this marriage was part of a plot by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland.
Find out more in this #TudorHistoryShorts from historian Claire Ridgway. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:https://youtu.be/PWIeZMAH3zA
Claire is the founder of the Tudor Society, an online membership site for those who love Tudor history. There, you can learn from Claire and many other expert historians and authors, enjoy Tudor-focused magazines and live Q&A sessions with experts, and have access to all kinds of talks, articles, quizzes, virtual tours and more. Try it with a 14-day free trial - https://www.tudorsociety.com/signup/
 
Claire has written some bestselling Tudor history books:
 
On This Day in Tudor History - https://amzn.to/3oceahH
The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown - https://amzn.to/3m8KaSi
George Boleyn: Tudor Poet, Courtier and Diplomat - https://amzn.to/2TdwyZr
The Anne Boleyn Collection - https://amzn.to/3kiQc1T
The Anne Boleyn Collection II - https://amzn.to/3o9LUwi
The Anne Boleyn Collection III - https://amzn.to/3kiQc1T
The Life of Anne Boleyn Colouring Books - https://amzn.to/3jkJ5Vz
 
Claire has also done an online history course, The Life of Anne Boleyn, for MedievalCourses.com - https://medievalcourses.com/overview/life-anne-boleyn-mc06/
 
You can find Claire at:
https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com 
https://www.tudorsociety.com
https://www.facebook.com/theanneboleyn

A man who refused a title, Lady Jane Grey's reprieve, and a naughty earl with a magic ring

In this first part of "This Week in Tudor History", historian Claire Ridgway introduces a chap named John, one of the many johns in his family, who turned down a title; explains why Lady Jane Grey's execution was postponed and what happened, and introduced an earl who appears to have been a bit of a Tudor bad boy.
 
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/Rz6quwsuFAw
 
8th February 1545, in the reign of King Henry VIII - Death of courtier and soldier Sir John Arundell of Lanherne, or John Arundell III, a man who turned down a barony from King Henry VIII. Find out why. 
 
9th February 1554 - Queen Mary I postpones Lady Jane Grey's scheduled execution and gives her a three-day reprieve. Her execution had already been postponed from 7th February, and in December 1553 it had appeared that Jane would be given mercy. What happened between December 1553 and February 1554? Why did Mary finally sign Jane's death warrant and then why did she give her a reprieve? Find out!
 
10th February 1564, in Queen Elizabeth I's reign - Death of Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland. Neville served King Henry VIII as a soldier, swapped sides in the succession crisis of 1553, and appears to have been a bit of a Tudor bad boy, being involved in dastardly plots against his own family. He had a magic ring though!
 
Other events for 8th, 9th and 10th February:
 
February 8 - The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots - https://youtu.be/sd3hP9Qb8Yk
February 8 - The Queen's favourite rebels - https://youtu.be/dhxFDUnxQig
February 9 - An awful end for a bishop - https://youtu.be/dE_mtQMSHVA
February 9 - Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, is taken to the Tower - https://youtu.be/53HVn-dfMyk
February 10 - Catherine Howard goes to the Tower - https://youtu.be/jYbD8-Qua-sFebruary 10 - The murder of Lord Darnley - https://youtu.be/jYbD8-Qua-s
 
Sir John Arundell's memorial brass, which depicts him in full armour, can be seen at  https://www.pinterest.es/pin/342344009155130091/ 
Executions of Lord Guildford Dudley and Lady Jane Grey - https://youtu.be/qf7up1CHfJA