Today in 1553 John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, was arrested. Dudley is often seen as a Tudor Villain, because he led the plot to put Lady Jane Grey on the throne when the teenaged Edward VI died, and the throne would have gone to Edward’s Catholic sister, Mary, who became Mary I.
Dudley married his son to Lady Jane, and seems to have perhaps planned to rule through his children, but alas, the plot didn’t work out as planned. Mary was able to gather her forces and march to London, while those who planned the rebellion were killed. Initially Mary wanted to show leniency to Lady Jane Grey, keeping her imprisoned but not killing her, but further rebellions made Mary think that she had no choice but to end Lady Jane as a potential threat. John Dudley’s plotting got himself killed, as well as his innocent son and daughter in law.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.