The Sisters Who Would Be Queen

by de Lisle, Leanda

• ISBN13: 9780345491350
• ISBN10: 0345491351
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-10-13
• Publisher: Ballantine Books

Summary

Mary, Katherine, and Jane Grey--sisters whose mere existence nearly toppled a kingdom and altered a nation's destiny--are the captivating subjects of Leanda de Lisle's new book. The Sisters Who Would Be Queen breathes fresh life into these three young women, who were victimized in the notoriously vicious Tudor power struggle and whose heirs would otherwise probably be ruling England today. Born into aristocracy, the Grey sisters were the great-granddaughters of Henry VII, grandnieces to Henry VIII, legitimate successors to the English throne, and rivals to Henry VIII's daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. Lady Jane, the eldest, was thrust center stage by greedy men and uncompromising religious politics when she briefly succeeded Henry's son, the young Edward I. Dubbed "the Nine Days Queen" after her short, tragic reign from the Tower of London, Jane has over the centuries earned a special place in the affections of the English people as a "queen with a public heart." But as de Lisle reveals, Jane was actually more rebel than victim, more leader than pawn, and Mary and Katherine Grey found that they would have to tread carefully in order to avoid sharing their elder sister's violent fate. Navigating the politics of the Tudor court after Jane's death was a precarious challenge. Katherine Grey, who sought to live a stable life, earned the trust of Mary I, only to risk her future with a love marriage that threatened Queen Elizabeth's throne. Mary Grey, considered too petite and plain to be significant, looked for her own escape from the burden of her royal blood--an impossible task after she followed her heart and also incurred the queen's envy, fear, and wrath. Exploding the many myths of Lady Jane Grey's life, unearthing the details of Katherine's and Mary's dramatic stories, and casting new light on Elizabeth's reign, Leanda de Lisle gives voice and resonance to the lives of the Greys and offers perspective on their place in history and on a time when a royal marriage could gain a woman a kingdom or cost her everything.

Author Biography

Leanda de Lisle is the author of After Elizabeth. She was educated at Somerville College, Oxford, where she earned a master of arts degree in modern history. A successful journalist and broadcaster, she has been a columnist for The Spectator, The Guardian, Country Life, and the Daily Express, as well as writing for The Times, the Daily Mail, the New Statesman, and The Sunday Telegraph. She lives in Leicestershire with her husband and three children.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. xv
Family Trees	p. xviii
Prologue	p. xxvii
Educating Jane
Beginning	p. 3
First Lessons	p. 12
Jane's Wardship	p. 21
The Example of Catherine Parr	p. 30
The Guardian's Fate	p. 41
Northumberland's "Crew"	p. 51
Bridling Jane	p. 61
Jane and Mary	p. 69
Queen and Martyr
"No Poor Child"?	p. 81
A Married Woman	p. 93
Jane the Queen	p. 102
A Prisoner in the Tower	p. 114
A Fatal Revolt	p. 126
Heirs to Elizabeth
Aftermath	p. 143
Growing Up	p. 156
The Spanish Plot	p. 166
Betrothal	p. 178
A Knot of Secret Might	p. 189
First Son	p. 200
Parliament and Catherine's Claim	p. 211
Hales's Tempest	p. 219
Lost Love
The Lady Mary and Mr. Keyes	p. 229
The Clear Choice	p. 236
While I Lived, Yours	p. 246
The Last Sister	p. 251
A Return to Elizabeth's Court	p. 260
Katherine's Sons and the Death of Elizabeth	p. 268
Standing at King Henry's Opened Tomb	p. 276
Epilogue	p. 281
Author's Note	p. 287
Notes	p. 293
Bibliography	p. 325
Index	p. 337
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Chapter One


Beginning  

Frances, Marchioness of Dorset, prepared carefully for the birth of her child. It was an anxious time, but following the traditions of the lying-in helped allay fears of the perils of labor. The room in which she was to have her baby had windows covered and keyholes blocked. Ordinances for a royal birth decreed that only one window should be left undraped, and Frances would depend almost entirely on candles for light. The room was to be as warm, soft, and dark as possible. She bought or borrowed expensive carpets and hangings, a bed of estate, fine sheets, and a rich counterpane. Her friend the late Lady Sussex had one of ermine bordered with cloth of gold for her lying-in, and, as the King's niece, Frances would have wanted nothing less.  

The nineteen-year-old mother-to-be was the daughter of Henry's younger sister, Mary, Duchess of Suffolk, the widow of Louis XII and known commonly as the French Queen. Frances was, therefore, a granddaughter of Henry VII and referred to as the Lady Frances to indicate her status as such. The child of famously handsome parents, she was, unsurprisingly, attractive. The effigy that lies on her tomb at Westminster Abbey has a slender, elegant figure and under the gilded crown she wears, her features are regular and strong. Frances, however, was a conventional Tudor woman, as submissive to her father's choice of husband for her as she would later be to her husband's decisions.  

Henry-or "Harry"-Grey, Marquess of Dorset, described as "young," "lusty," "well learned and a great wit," was only six months older than his wife. But the couple had been married for almost four years already. The contractual arrangements had been made on 24 March 1533, when Frances was fifteen and Dorset sixteen. Among commoners a woman was expected to be at least twenty before she married, and a man older, but of course these were no commoners. They came from a hereditary elite and were part of a ruthless political culture. The children of the nobility were political and financial assets to their families, and Frances's marriage to Dorset reflected this. Dorset came from an ancient line with titles including the baronies of Ferrers, Grey of Groby, Astley, Boneville, and Harrington. He also had royal connections. His grandfather, the 1st Marquess, was the son of Elizabeth Woodville, and therefore the half-brother of Henry VIII's royal mother, Elizabeth of York. This marked Dorset as a suitable match for Frances in terms of rank and wealth, but there were also good political reasons for Suffolk to want him as a son-in-law.  

The period immediately before the arrangement of Frances's marriage had been a difficult one for her parents. The dislike with which Mary, Duchess of Suffolk, viewed her brother's then "beloved," Anne Boleyn, was well-known. It was said that women argued more bitterly about matters of rank than anything else, and certainly Frances's royal mother had deeply resented being required to give precedence to a commoner like Anne. For years the duke and duchess had done their best to destroy the King's affection for his mistress, but in the end without success. The King, convinced that Anne would give him the son that Catherine of Aragon had failed to produce, had married her that January and she was due to be crowned in May/June. It seemed that the days when the Suffolks had basked in the King's favor could be over, but a marriage of Frances to Harry Dorset offered a possible lifeline, a way into the Boleyn camp. Harry Dorset's father, Thomas Grey of Dorset, had been a witness for the King in his efforts to achieve an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. He had won his famous diamond-and-ruby badge of the Tudor rose at the jousting tournaments that had celebrated Catherine's betrothal to the King's late brother, Arthur, in 1501. In 1529, the year before Tho

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Excerpted from The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: The Tragedy of Katherine, Mary, and Lady Jane Grey by Leanda de Lisle
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.