Friday: Famous Females

Famous Females: Lady Jane Grey

I've heard it said, "one way to know culture is to study its history".  I am personally fascinated by many parts of history and I have found that many people are at the very least intrigued by some particular mark in history.  There are many specific eras or events in history that captivate me - such as the Kennedy Assassination, unsolved mysteries, and much of British history.  I recently came upon the story of Lady Jane Grey by watching the movie Lady Jane with Helena Bonham Carter.  I had never even heard of this woman, but have gotten into watching a lot of British movies/shows lately, and this one sounded interesting to me.  Well, I highly recommend it.  I so enjoy when movies surprise me in a good way like this one did!  It introduced me to another understanding of British culture and Christian history.

Let me tell you about Lady Jane.  She was known as the "Nine Days' Queen" because she ruled England for only nine days.  It was a really critical time in England's history because of the tension between Protestants and Catholics.  King Edward VI was ruling and she was his first-cousin-once-removed.  Edward, unfortunately, was ill and died at the young age at 15.  Though his half-sister Mary I (aka "Bloody Mary") would be in line for the throne after him because she was Henry VIII's daughter, Edward changed the succession on his deathbed to fall to Lady Jane Grey instead.  At least from the impression of the movie, a big part of why Edward wanted her to be Queen was because he shared her Protestant faith.  He did not want Mary to be Queen and reinstate Catholicism (which, unfortunately she did, and killed hundreds of Christians at the stakes).  Lady Jane only ruled for nine days and in the movie she was portrayed as a great Queen. Mary grew in influence and eventually Lady Jane was not only forced out of the throne, she and her husband were both beheaded.   

Though her story and life were short, what captivated me about Lady Jane as I watched the movie was her incredible commitment to her faith in Christ.  She did not care what happened to her, she did not back down once from the Truth nor did she remain silent in times when it would have been perceived as agreement with Catholicism.  There was a scene in the movie, toward the end when she is being held prisoner in the Tower, where the priest comes to question her one last time - hoping she will agree with Catholicism and be spared from death. And her and her husband both, while being separately questioned, held firm to their belief as Protestants in Christ.  It is an epic part of the movie.  

I was very moved by their commitment and fervency while watching - really evaluating if I would be as firm if in the same situation.  Lady Jane is a great woman of history.

Paul Delaroche - The Execution of Lady Jane Grey