en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Jane_Grey
3 corrections found
Both the King and Protector Dudley knew of Mary's intense devotion to the Catholic faith
John Dudley was not "Protector". During Edward VI's minority he ruled as Lord President of the Council, while the title Lord Protector belonged to Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset.
Full reasoning
This sentence misstates John Dudley's office. After overthrowing Edward Seymour in 1549, Dudley became Lord President of the Council, not Lord Protector. Contemporary and standard reference works distinguish the two roles clearly:
- The Oxford Companion to British History entry on John Dudley, 1st duke of Northumberland says that from 1549 he "held power as lord president of the council."
- The corresponding entry on Edward Seymour, 1st duke of Somerset says that on Henry VIII's death in 1547, Seymour "became protector of the realm and duke of Somerset."
So calling Dudley "Protector Dudley" is factually wrong: the Protector under Edward VI was Edward Seymour, not John Dudley.
2 sources
- John Dudley Duke Of Northumberland | Encyclopedia.com
From October 1549 he supplanted Somerset and for the rest of Edward's short reign held power as lord president of the council.
- Edward Seymour Duke Of Somerset | Encyclopedia.com
On Henry VIII's death in 1547, with his nephew aged 9, he became protector of the realm and duke of Somerset.
The Duke of Suffolk was also accused of high treason and sentenced to death, but thanks to his wife's close friendship with Mary, he was temporarily saved from being executed, although he remained under house arrest.
Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was not sentenced to death at Jane's November 1553 trial. He was released and pardoned in July 1553, then later tried and condemned only after joining Wyatt's Rebellion in February 1554.
Full reasoning
This sentence compresses two separate episodes into one and gets the sequence wrong.
After Mary took the throne in July 1553, Henry Grey (Duke of Suffolk) was imprisoned briefly but released on 31 July 1553 and allowed to retire from court. He was not condemned to death at the November 1553 proceedings against Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley.
His actual treason trial came much later, after he joined Wyatt's Rebellion against Mary. The Dictionary of National Biography states that he fled on 26 January 1554, was brought back to London, then was arraigned for high treason on 17 February 1554, found guilty, and executed on 23 February 1554. The Library of Congress likewise notes that Jane was executed in February 1554 only after her father, the Duke of Suffolk, had participated in a rebellion against Queen Mary.
So the article is wrong to say Suffolk had already been "accused ... and sentenced to death" in the context of Jane's November 1553 trial. His death sentence belonged to a later, separate prosecution in February 1554.
2 sources
- Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Grey, Henry (d.1554) - Wikisource
On the 27th Suffolk and his wife were imprisoned in the Tower, but released on the 31st... Suffolk was arraigned for high treason at Westminster Hall (17 Feb.)... found guilty of high treason and condemned to death. He was executed on Tower Hill on Friday, 23 Feb. 1554.
- "My Devise for the Succession" | In Custodia Legis
Lady Jane was confined to the Tower of London and sentenced to death in November 1553. She was not executed until February 1554 after her father, the Duke of Suffolk, had participated in a rebellion against Queen Mary.
The Lord Viceroy of Suffolk, Thomas Wentworth, initially supported Jane on 11 July but moved with his troops to Mary's side on 14 July, probably out of self-preservation as his home was only 20 miles from Mary's camp.
Thomas Wentworth was not a "Lord Viceroy of Suffolk," and the date given for his defection is off. He was a commissioner exercising the functions of lord lieutenant of Norfolk and Suffolk, and a standard biographical source says he declared for Mary on 17 July 1553.
Full reasoning
This sentence misidentifies Thomas Wentworth's office and appears to misdate his switch to Mary.
The Dictionary of National Biography says that on 16 May 1552 Wentworth was "one of the three commissioners appointed to exercise the functions of lord lieutenant of Norfolk and Suffolk," with that appointment renewed on 24 May 1553. It does not describe him as any kind of "viceroy" of Suffolk.
The same source also states that Wentworth "gave in his adhesion to Mary on 17 July," not 14 July. A Tudor Society chronology likewise records that on 11 July Wentworth publicly declared for Jane at Ipswich, which matches the first half of the sentence but not the stated 14 July defection date.
So this claim is inaccurate at least in its title for Wentworth, and its dating of his change of side conflicts with the cited biographical source.
2 sources
- Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wentworth, Thomas (1525-1584) - Wikisource
On 16 May 1552 he was one of the three commissioners appointed to exercise the functions of lord lieutenant of Norfolk and Suffolk, and his appointment was renewed on 24 May 1553... He gave in his adhesion to Mary on 17 July.
- 11 July - Men change sides from Queen Jane to Mary - The Tudor Society
On this day in history, 11th July 1553, in Ipswich, Suffolk, Sir Thomas Cornwallis, sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, Lord Thomas Wentworth, and some other prominent Suffolk gentlemen declared for Queen Jane and publicly proclaimed her the rightful queen.