Alternatively, the Syon Portrait may have been copied from a miniature (now lost) already in the possession of the Seymours, much like the large portrait at Syon of Jane’s sister Katherine. She was still beloved by many. Thus Mary consented to Jane being executed by beheading with an axe. Many carried some type of religious text with them to the place of execution, often a Missal or Book of Hours (for Catholics) or a New Testament or copies of the Four Gospels (for Protestants). Tried for treason, the 17-year-old Lady Jane was beheaded at Tower Hill on 12 February 1554. Ridiculous religious fervor and politics gone awry yet again. They were the daughters of Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, respectively. Mabon, Feast of Avalon and Others. (, , pictured below, has survived and is sometimes displayed as part of the permanent “Treasures of the Library” exhibition at the British Library in London. Jane was featured in the Book of Martyrs (Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Dayes) by John Foxe. Jane’s father, Henry Grey, and two of her uncles joined the rebellion. Jane was executed within the relatively private walls of the Tower of London rather than in the full glare of the crowds outside the walls on Tower Hill. Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same. They are trained not only to transmit the objects but also express the mood and the spirit of the subject. Queen Mary—later known by Protestant opponents as “Bloody Mary”—entered London two weeks later, in early August. He lived until 1621, and may well have advised the artist on Jane’s appearance. All defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death. He had been born in the town of Feckingham in the county of Worcester, and it was customary at the time for monks to drop their family surname and to use instead only their forename and the name of the town where they had been born—thus “John de (or “of”) Feckenham.”. Jane and Guildford are buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula on the north side of Tower Green. Grey's life was initially spared, but her father's participation in Wyatt's Rebellion in 1554, a revolt against Mary's proposed marriage to Philip II of Spain, convinced the queen that she did not need another focal point of Protestant opposition and a rival to the throne. However, someone—usually reported as Feckenham—apparently did reach down and guide her hands to the block. Scaffold speeches were often published within days of the execution and circulated widely, sometimes as political propaganda, sometimes as educational tools or warnings to others, and sometimes simply as “news of the day.” Jane would have been well aware of this practice, and her final speech, as it was published barely more than a month later, reflects a careful choice of words. Few works can be said to have shaped historical memory in the way Frenchman Paul Delaroche's 1833 painting, The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, did. Yes. On this day in history, 12th February 1554, Lady Jane Grey and her husband, Guildford Dudley, were executed by being beheaded. John Dudley, for his part, was executed on August 22, 1553. I feel sad for her at 16 she was beheaded. Wow! The Titillating, the Terrifying, the Campy and the Creepy, What’s in a Name? Jane’s execution, with Feckenham by her side, is depicted in this famous painting by Paul Delaroche, 1833. She would also have had a short walk from her quarters to the scaffold, though she would have been in full view of the many permanent residents, workers, and official visitors within the Tower that busy Monday morning. However, during her imprisonment Jane remained a dedicated Protestant. However, Mary was a Roman Catholic, and this did not sit well with young Edward, a strict Protestant. The fact against the queen’s Highness was unlawful, and the consenting thereunto by me: but, touching the procurement and desire thereof by me, or on my behalf, I do wash my hands thereof in innocency before God, and the face of you, good Christian people, this day. Jane was so young. Historian J. Stephan Edwards does not share my religious beliefs, but he kindly took some time to help answer some questions on Lady Jane Grey and her execution on February 12, 1554. 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