0:00:02 > 0:00:04The Tudors are historical superstars,
0:00:04 > 0:00:06our most famous Royal Dynasty.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10But there is one Tudor monarch who's been all but forgotten -
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Queen Jane.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Lady Jane Grey was a teenager thrust onto the throne,
0:00:16 > 0:00:20only to lose her crown after just nine days.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24She was the first woman to be proclaimed Queen of England,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27but few would recognise the name Queen Jane.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31I'm Helen Castor, and over three episodes I'm going to take
0:00:31 > 0:00:34a forensic look at Jane's story.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40It is a Tudor thriller, an epic tale of family conflict...
0:00:42 > 0:00:44..ambition and betrayal.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48The death of a King covered up
0:00:48 > 0:00:51and a country torn between two faiths.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Our protagonists include the manipulative Duke...
0:00:58 > 0:01:00..the wronged princess...
0:01:02 > 0:01:04..and the God-fearing 15-year-old
0:01:04 > 0:01:07who finds herself caught between them,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09and pays with her life.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13I'm going to track down original sources,
0:01:13 > 0:01:15written as the drama unfolds.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19This is the really exciting bit of the job.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21I'll talk to expert colleagues.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23I've been in this game for 40 years,
0:01:23 > 0:01:26and I have to tell you, there is no trickier Tudor subject
0:01:26 > 0:01:27than Jane Grey.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32And I'll visit the places where Jane once walked
0:01:32 > 0:01:34during the nine days that she reigned.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37In this episode I'll unpick the story of the next five days
0:01:37 > 0:01:41of Jane's reign, and the dramatic events that will decide
0:01:41 > 0:01:45the identity of England's Queen and its religion.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56It's 12th July, 1553.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Jane Grey is Queen,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04but Mary Tudor intends to do everything in her power to seize the crown.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Jane is in the Tower of London,
0:02:07 > 0:02:09Mary's at Kenninghall in Norfolk.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Jane has the support of the Privy Council,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13the whole machinery of state,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16and has the Tower's weapons at her command.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19Mary has none of these things.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23No-one believes she's got a chance.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25She's a woman with a household in East Anglia
0:02:25 > 0:02:28that's full of local yokel Catholic gentry men,
0:02:28 > 0:02:32you know, nobody who's got any political experience.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34And, instead, Lady Jane Grey is
0:02:34 > 0:02:38in the Tower of London, of course, the great fortress of the city,
0:02:38 > 0:02:39the armoury, the munitions,
0:02:39 > 0:02:42you know, everything is under the control of Lady Jane Grey
0:02:42 > 0:02:44and the Duke of Northumberland.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47No-one rates Mary's chances whatsoever.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50Until just a few months ago,
0:02:50 > 0:02:55Mary, a devout Catholic, was heir to the throne, but her brother,
0:02:55 > 0:03:00Edward VI, who was determined that the country should remain Protestant
0:03:00 > 0:03:05had secretly changed the succession in favour of their cousin, Jane Grey.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09When Edward died, a powerful group of noblemen,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11led by the Duke of Northumberland,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15declared Jane Queen before Mary could protest.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24On 12th July, it seems as though
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Jane and her supporters have won.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Jane is confidently signing letters, "Jane the Queen".
0:03:32 > 0:03:37But Mary, at her manor of Kenninghall, has also been sending out letters -
0:03:37 > 0:03:40hers signed, "Mary the Queen" -
0:03:40 > 0:03:43summon her loyal subjects to resist Jane
0:03:43 > 0:03:47and to rally in support of her own claim to the throne.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51And by 12th July,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54this call to arms, issued by a lone woman,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56is beginning to work.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Mary's forces are able to gather together very quickly,
0:04:01 > 0:04:03one, because they're local,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05and, two, because they believe in her cause.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08And this is why she's gone to East Anglia in the first place,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11because she's also a major landowner there,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14so she's pulling all the threads of her...
0:04:14 > 0:04:17possible roots of allegiance together.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Some of them would have been there because they had an obligation,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25being tenants of Mary, probably a lot of them are Catholics,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28but even if they aren't Catholics, they believe
0:04:28 > 0:04:30she is the rightful claimant to the throne.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34From farm workers to local landowners,
0:04:34 > 0:04:38men begin to arrive at Kenninghall to show their support.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44On the morning of the 12th Mary makes the bold decision
0:04:44 > 0:04:48to relocate her gathering forces, of around 600 at this point,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51South East to Framlingham Castle in Suffolk.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Why would Mary take such a risk?
0:04:56 > 0:05:01And how does she manage the perilous journey with such limited resources?
0:05:01 > 0:05:04- Mark.- Hello, Helen, nice to meet you.- Lovely to meet you.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Jane's in the Tower,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10Mary's in Norfolk with her cobbled-together forces,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14and she has to move from Kenninghall to Framlingham.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17How did armies move with all their gear?
0:05:17 > 0:05:19How exposed were they on the road?
0:05:19 > 0:05:20They'd certainly be visible.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Moving around the countryside, would draw attention.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25And the problem is, she wants to move quite fast,
0:05:25 > 0:05:27so she's not got a huge baggage train with her,
0:05:27 > 0:05:29so men are living off the land,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and because they don't have carts and things with them,
0:05:32 > 0:05:36they're most likely wearing everything that they're going to be needing.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38If we're looking at the sort of people who are coming out
0:05:38 > 0:05:40to support Mary, then we're looking at local militias,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44we're looking at people who are wearing maybe Grandad's old armour
0:05:44 > 0:05:48from Bosworth, or maybe not even as good as that.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50So, what was on their backs?
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Well, this is called a brigandine,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56it's like, almost like a modern army flak vest.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00Then of course we have the most important part of the body's armour - your head.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04So, this is an armet, it's a very complicated continental helmet.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07You can't afford one of those if you're a local yokel,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11so, I'm afraid, if you are someone of the lower orders
0:06:11 > 0:06:14you're going to be equipped with a simple skullcap, like this.
0:06:14 > 0:06:19- A tin can.- Simply a tin can, a bit sturdy, not a thing of beauty.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22And, more importantly, doesn't really protect the face,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25or especially the throat.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Medieval and Renaissance warfare is brutal,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31it's up close, it's very, very... It's a tough guy's world.
0:06:36 > 0:06:42Mary is leading her men over open country in active rebellion against Jane...
0:06:43 > 0:06:48..to a 12th-century fortress that formed part of her East Anglian estates.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Why did Mary come here to Framlingham?
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Well, she was growing out of Kenninghall.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05I mean, Kenninghall was a manor house,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08but, you know, forces were now gathering in several thousand,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11and so, it wasn't really a place from which to
0:07:11 > 0:07:14mobilise a force or muster a force, and of course it wasn't a place
0:07:14 > 0:07:17where she could make a statement of her intent.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Of course she'd by now proclaimed herself Queen,
0:07:19 > 0:07:23so she needed a fortress, she needed a base from which to rally forces,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26but also get ready to engage for battle.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34And it's well situated, looks over the East Suffolk countryside.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37It would be a place where she can keep an eye out for forces from London,
0:07:37 > 0:07:38she could rally her troops,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41and it was somewhere which could be defended.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Mary's right to be on the lookout for troops from London
0:07:54 > 0:07:57as she makes her dash to Framlingham, because
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Northumberland is in the Tower readying an army to confront her.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07The 12th July is a critical point in Jane's nine-day reign,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10with events moving quickly on both sides.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Local merchant Henry Machyn describes the ammunition and weapons
0:08:14 > 0:08:17he saw being brought into the Tower on the 12th.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21He recorded, "Three carts full of all manner of ordnance,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24"such as great guns and small bows,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26"bills, spears, Moorish pikes,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29"armour, arrows, gunpowder and stakes,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31"a great number of cannonballs."
0:08:32 > 0:08:34With so much sophisticated weaponry,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38Jane and Northumberland have no reason to be concerned,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41so they take their time responding to Mary's challenge.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44He would have thought, "Well, you know,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47"she's got lots of peasants on her side.
0:08:47 > 0:08:48"I have the guns,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50"I have the cavalry,
0:08:50 > 0:08:52"I have," you know, "the power that matters."
0:08:54 > 0:08:58Northumberland was the puppet master who'd placed Jane on the throne -
0:08:58 > 0:09:01the most powerful man in England,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04supremely confident in his abilities.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10He was clearly an exceptionally skilled politician.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12He must have had outstanding
0:09:12 > 0:09:14interpersonal skills, as we would say today.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16He was non-titled,
0:09:16 > 0:09:18he was not hereditary nobility.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22Through his own sheer ability,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26he had worked his way up and became Admiral of the Fleet.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30He had served in the military and put down rebellions in the north.
0:09:30 > 0:09:37He was clearly someone who had enormous ability as a bureaucrat,
0:09:37 > 0:09:41as a governor, as a military leader, as a politician.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44And I think we need to admire him to a certain extent for that.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50Northumberland has focused on securing the Tower and the machinery of state.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55It suggests that at this point he doesn't see Mary as a serious threat.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59Somebody said at the time about Northumberland,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03he despised the plans of a mere woman, meaning Mary,
0:10:03 > 0:10:04but he wasn't alone in that.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06They all underestimated her,
0:10:06 > 0:10:12and that was Northumberland's biggest mistake.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14- That he had Westminster blinkers on...- Exactly.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17..that he thought if he controlled all the levers of power
0:10:17 > 0:10:19at the centre, everything else would just fall into place.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Exactly. But she was already gathering forces
0:10:22 > 0:10:25but, to his mind, not very impressive forces.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28They were largely the common people, ordinary people.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30They weren't the great nobles.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33The great nobles, on the whole, all supported Jane.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37He wasn't expecting Mary to decide to raise a standard
0:10:37 > 0:10:40and go to battle - that was a huge and tremendous shock,
0:10:40 > 0:10:42not just to him, but to the whole Privy Council,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45they simply couldn't believe it and were absolutely horrified.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49And raising forces was a key question in all of this, wasn't it?
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Because the Crown didn't have a police force
0:10:52 > 0:10:55or a standing army at its disposal.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57Yes, I think that's one of the interesting things about
0:10:57 > 0:11:01the English monarchy, they didn't have armies of their own.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03Certainly you could pay for them,
0:11:03 > 0:11:07and Jane did offer double the normal rate
0:11:07 > 0:11:10to anyone who was prepared to fight for her against Mary.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18Despite offering high wages, Jane's camp struggles to attract an army,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21but people are joining Mary by choice.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Why do they flock to her, even though she's the underdog?
0:11:24 > 0:11:29Why do so many ordinary people believe in her claim to the crown?
0:11:29 > 0:11:32To find answers, we need to go back to her childhood.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37What was Mary's life like in the years before
0:11:37 > 0:11:41- the succession crisis of 1553? - Well, how long have you got?
0:11:41 > 0:11:43She had an epic life.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48I mean, Mary's life to be characterised by fortune and adversity.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52I mean, it swung from royal favour to profound neglect.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55She was born, of course,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57the first child of Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00and was described at the time as a token of hope.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04But then, of course, it all changed with Henry becoming infatuated with
0:12:04 > 0:12:09Anne Boleyn, and then the 20-year marriage between Mary's parents
0:12:09 > 0:12:11was, of course, as we all know, brought to an end
0:12:11 > 0:12:14with the break with Rome. And with the birth of Elizabeth,
0:12:14 > 0:12:19Mary basically went from being a princess to a royal bastard.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21She became the King's illegitimate daughter.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25She was stripped of her status, she became Lady Mary.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Absolutely extreme turn of events.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32When Henry divorced Catherine and then executed Anne Boleyn,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36Mary and Elizabeth were both declared to be illegitimate
0:12:36 > 0:12:38and cut from the line of succession.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40But later, Henry made clear that
0:12:40 > 0:12:43if his only son, Edward, were to die childless,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47he still wanted his daughters to inherit the throne.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53During Henry's reign, by his will and by Act of Parliament in 1544,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56the succession is Edward, to be followed,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00in the event of Edward not having any heirs himself,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02first by Mary and then Elizabeth.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04So although both Mary and Elizabeth were actually regarded as
0:13:04 > 0:13:07illegitimate, they're back in the succession.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10And so it was quite easy for Mary to say
0:13:10 > 0:13:13"Look, I am the rightful heir under my father's will."
0:13:13 > 0:13:16That was approved not just once by Parliament,
0:13:16 > 0:13:18but in two Parliamentary Acts.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22And she was simply, you know, defending her right.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26But Edward, on his deathbed,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29removed his half sisters from the succession again,
0:13:29 > 0:13:32and undid what all of England considered the natural order.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38I mean, basically Edward thought that, just like Dad,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41he had the right to dictate his own succession settlement.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45He was absolutely determined that he was going to exclude
0:13:45 > 0:13:49his two half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, from the succession
0:13:49 > 0:13:52because he maintained that they were illegitimate,
0:13:52 > 0:13:54and, of course, they had been proclaimed as bastards
0:13:54 > 0:13:57by Parliament, by Edward's father.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03But as far as the public were concerned, Mary had the blood claim
0:14:03 > 0:14:06to the throne, no matter what Westminster said.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10And there was another reason just as powerful.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15And of course, religion came very much into it,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19because Edward had brought in a Protestant settlement
0:14:19 > 0:14:23with his advisers, and was himself a bigoted Protestant.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25And of course, Mary was a Catholic.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Following on from his father's break with Rome,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Edward had been intent on ridding the country of Catholicism.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37Church walls were whitewashed,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40statues and stained glass destroyed,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42and the Prayer Book was radically changed.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48I think it's difficult to overstate how dramatic this change would have been.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52Religion was so fundamental a part of people's lives.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55To make even the smallest change in that would really
0:14:55 > 0:15:01undermine people's sense not only of faith, but of normalcy,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04of the sense in which there was something that
0:15:04 > 0:15:06they could depend on and trust.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09If we take, for example,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12the removal of the sung Masses for the souls of the dead.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17If you've always been taught that in order for your loved one's soul
0:15:17 > 0:15:20to go to heaven you have to have this sung Mass,
0:15:20 > 0:15:22to suddenly have that taken away from you,
0:15:22 > 0:15:26well, not only do you worry about the soul of your family member,
0:15:26 > 0:15:30your loved one, but you start to wonder whether or not that was
0:15:30 > 0:15:33necessary in the first place, who gets to decide these things?
0:15:33 > 0:15:37Is there any sort of foundational basis that you can trust
0:15:37 > 0:15:39in order to base your belief?
0:15:39 > 0:15:43So, your sense of the world, this life and the next one,
0:15:43 > 0:15:45is being changed before your very eyes.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49I think it's important to keep in mind that it's not just changes in
0:15:49 > 0:15:52the practice of religion, but changes in people's very mind-sets.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55They are being told what to think and what to believe,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59and whenever you attempt to do that, you're going to create division,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01and that's exactly what we see happening.
0:16:01 > 0:16:07In July 1553, the choice the country faced was not just Jane or Mary,
0:16:07 > 0:16:09it was Protestant or Catholic.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Mary had no intention of abandoning her devoutly held beliefs.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18She had carried on celebrating the Catholic Mass even while her brother
0:16:18 > 0:16:21was alive, and that had caused a deep rift between them.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27We know this because, unusually for a King, Edward tells us himself.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31He kept a diary. Not a record of his innermost thoughts,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33but a chronicle of the events of his own reign.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40Edward wrote his diary between 1547 and 1552.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44It's a remarkable document that gives us glimpses of Mary's past,
0:16:44 > 0:16:48and helps explain what sort of opponent she was.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50This is the really exciting bit of the job.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54I've read the text of Edward's diary before,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57but I've never seen the original manuscript until today.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00- Hello, Andrea.- Hi, hi.
0:17:00 > 0:17:01Thank you so much for bringing this.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05- It looks like it's holding up well. - Yes.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Oh, so it's got some of his... These letters to start with.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Some of his letters at the very beginning.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16This is a letter in Edward's hand.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21And this is the beginning of his diary.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23"18th August, 1550.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25"My Lord Warwick was made General Warden of the North,
0:17:25 > 0:17:26"and Mr Herbert..."
0:17:26 > 0:17:28"A shilling fell from ninepence to sixpence,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30"a groat from threepence to twopence..."
0:17:30 > 0:17:34"I wrote back a letter saying that I marvelled that he could refuse" to sign that Bill...
0:17:36 > 0:17:40It's an extraordinary thing to read the King's own record
0:17:40 > 0:17:43of his daily life, in his own handwriting.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47And to touch the paper that Edward touched is spine-tingling.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51The diary makes clear Mary's strength of character
0:17:51 > 0:17:54in resisting Edward's Protestant reforms.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56Mary becomes this figure of opposition.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58Edward, young brother, is going,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01"Right, we're going to really kick on with the Reformation."
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Mary is defiant in her Catholicism,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07and so brother and sister have these really full-on spats.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10"18th March, 1551.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14"The Lady Mary, my sister, came to me at Westminster."
0:18:15 > 0:18:19She came, but she came with a show of defiance.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22She rode through London with 130 attendants,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26each one holding a rosary as a sign of their outlawed Catholic faith.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30Edward challenged his sister directly...
0:18:32 > 0:18:34..and the two had terrible arguments.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Mary's saying to Edward, you know, "You're my little brother.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42"I'm not listening to you, I'm not taking orders from you."
0:18:42 > 0:18:45And he's saying to Mary, his older sister, "But I'm the King.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49"You need to stop saying Mass," and Mary's like, "Absolutely not."
0:18:49 > 0:18:52And massive pressure's being put on her.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Some of her household officers are imprisoned for refusing
0:18:55 > 0:18:58to stop saying the Mass, you know, in Mary's household,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01and it really does get pretty emotional.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07But of course, it has a much bigger, dangerous, you know, context,
0:19:07 > 0:19:11which is Catholic versus Protestant, what is the future going to be?
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Protestantism has marginalised and oppressed Mary,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19but her brother's death is her opportunity to claim the throne,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21and she's determined to grasp it.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25She had survived the break with Rome,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28she had survived her brother's Reformation, and I believe
0:19:28 > 0:19:32she was intent on surviving this latest crisis as well.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37She saw this as her, kind of, divine duty.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40You know, God was preserving her through these years
0:19:40 > 0:19:43in order to bring about the Catholic Restoration.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46And in the attempt to achieve her goal,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Mary had two important advantages.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53While some people had embraced the new Protestant faith,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56large parts of the country were still attached to traditional forms
0:19:56 > 0:20:01of worship, and in Mary they saw a champion of the old ways.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05Not only that, but most people in England saw Mary as
0:20:05 > 0:20:09the rightful heir, while Jane was barely known.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Not a Queen, but a usurper of the Tudor line.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17And, as a result, increasing numbers of both Catholics and Protestants
0:20:17 > 0:20:20were rallying to Mary's cause.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29As Mary's support grows,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Jane's camp are still planning their countermove.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37In the Tower, the Privy Council have chosen Jane's father, Henry Grey,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40a Duke with no track record as a military leader,
0:20:40 > 0:20:42to command the army against Mary.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46Such a bad idea.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49He'd no military training, no military experience.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51No ability at anything very much.
0:20:51 > 0:20:57No, I mean, Henry VIII had deliberately excluded Henry Grey
0:20:57 > 0:21:02from the Garter for year after year after year after year.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Henry VIII was a good judge of character,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08he knew what men had ability and what men did not.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Jane's father had ambition, but no discernible talent.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14I think he had ambition...
0:21:15 > 0:21:20..and no ability, and no desire to work toward that ambition.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23He wanted it handed to him on a plate.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31The Order of the Garter was a chivalric honour given by the King,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34and Henry VIII hadn't thought Henry Grey much of a soldier.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39Now, some time during the 12th, there was a change of plan.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45Some accounts say that Jane refused to let her father leave London
0:21:45 > 0:21:47because she was afraid it was too dangerous.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51Some say that Henry Grey had begun to have fainting fits.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Perhaps he was ill, or perhaps the pressure was taking its toll.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Jane decides to keep her father back in safety.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05Instead, she confirms that Northumberland will replace her father on the battlefield.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Of course, what Jane wanted was that her father,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13who'd been originally given the job, shouldn't do it.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17Jane did not want her father to risk his life and career by,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20you know, riding out on a risky expedition.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23And so they sent Northumberland instead.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Northumberland was quite reluctant to go, of course, because
0:22:25 > 0:22:28he knew that if he left London things could, you know, collapse.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30In that specific sense, then,
0:22:30 > 0:22:35in deciding that Northumberland must lead the army instead of her father,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39could we argue that Jane was the architect of her own fall?
0:22:39 > 0:22:42Well, you could, but it wouldn't have been a conscious decision
0:22:42 > 0:22:45because she wasn't thinking of it in that sort of way.
0:22:45 > 0:22:51I mean, we still have to come back to the fact that Jane is really being used here by the men.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56I mean, she is Queen, but only in a titular sense.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05In sending Northumberland instead of her father,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08you could argue that Jane's made a rational choice.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12Northumberland's the most experienced soldier on the Council,
0:23:12 > 0:23:14clearly the best man for the job,
0:23:14 > 0:23:17and she doesn't want her father to stick his neck out
0:23:17 > 0:23:19and be the person to arrest Mary.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24But it turns out that Jane's decision to let Northumberland
0:23:24 > 0:23:26leave London is a fatal error.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Northumberland can't be everywhere at once,
0:23:30 > 0:23:32and he can't hold this coup together.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35Had he had able lieutenants,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39and clearly Henry Grey was not that able lieutenant,
0:23:39 > 0:23:41things might have held together a little bit longer,
0:23:41 > 0:23:43but there was just no-one there.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47All of the - quote - "good" people he took with him going north,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50and we were left with old...
0:23:50 > 0:23:52essentially older men,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56people of experience but people who were not themselves known
0:23:56 > 0:23:58to be skilful politicians.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02They were administrators but they were not politicians,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04and what was needed was a good politician,
0:24:04 > 0:24:06and that was Northumberland.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10For good or ill, Jane has made up her mind.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Northumberland is to lead the attack on Mary.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17He begins to position his pieces on the battlefield.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24What was Northumberland's plan before he set out from London,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27in terms of what forces he was going to get
0:24:27 > 0:24:30and what he wanted to do with them?
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Well, we place him here in London.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35At this stage, Mary - he knows - is in Framlingham.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38- Here in Suffolk.- Exactly, there.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41And he's not overly concerned with time at this stage.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43Time, he thinks, is on his side,
0:24:43 > 0:24:45because he and the Privy Council
0:24:45 > 0:24:47hold all the cards.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50They have control over the levers of power,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53most of the military force, including the artillery
0:24:53 > 0:24:55in the country, are in his hands,
0:24:55 > 0:24:59and he cannot have believed that Mary can actually put
0:24:59 > 0:25:02a very effective military force in the field.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Therefore, he needs to move slowly but surely
0:25:06 > 0:25:09to the west of her position, and not come in from the south.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12If he'd actually marched through Chelmsford towards her,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15it would have given her the opportunity to leave
0:25:15 > 0:25:17by the northern route, as it were.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19So his plan is to move towards Cambridge,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22where he's going to link up with his son,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26and therefore they will effectively put themselves as a blocking force,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30not allowing Mary to move in a westerly direction.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32But she also can't move east either,
0:25:32 > 0:25:35because the Privy Council has ordered the Royal Navy,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38or at least six of the major warships of the Royal Navy,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41to move up and block the coast,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43preventing her from escaping,
0:25:43 > 0:25:45but also any Imperial forces from aiding her.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49He has pretty much got her, in his mind, or will soon have her,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52in the two jaws of a vice.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Strategically, Northumberland has the upper hand,
0:25:56 > 0:26:01and there's no doubt his forces are armed in a way Mary's men can only dream of.
0:26:02 > 0:26:07What kind of weapons were their soldiers going to be able to wield?
0:26:07 > 0:26:11Jane's very lucky. She has all the arms and armour in the Tower of London.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14There's a huge national depository of pikes
0:26:14 > 0:26:17and bills and swords and bows and arrows.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20There might be a million arrows stored in there.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22But this is going to be a battle at close quarters,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24so we are looking at the swords.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26It's a cut and thrust sword,
0:26:26 > 0:26:28but this is really designed for going straight in.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34See here, this is the tin can opener of the 15th and 16th century.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37This is the poleaxe.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41This is going to go through armour, this is going to cut flesh,
0:26:41 > 0:26:43that's going to stab through any gaps.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46But again, it's a complicated weapon and it's an expensive weapon,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49and it shows that you're somebody of a decent rank.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52You are a man at arms, you've probably got a decent bit of armour.
0:26:52 > 0:26:58Some of Jane's more ordinary troops, you are looking at things like this.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03A glaive with a nasty fluke on it, so you can really push that home,
0:27:03 > 0:27:05and there's a secondary cutting edge there.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08We are getting into a very, very brutal,
0:27:08 > 0:27:10very, very nasty style of fighting.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13You can see that in the remains of soldiers who've been excavated
0:27:13 > 0:27:16from battlefields across the medieval world.
0:27:16 > 0:27:23So, should we imagine either Jane or Mary having any firepower at their disposal?
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Well, Jane's got the Tower of London arsenal.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27We know there are muskets, arquebuses,
0:27:27 > 0:27:29and we know there's gunpowder and shot.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32Mary would have been reliant on anything that's local.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35They're few and far between, to be quite honest,
0:27:35 > 0:27:37compared with what Jane can bring to bear.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39But, of course, they still need training,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42they still need people who know, understand.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44They still need people who understand how to not only use
0:27:44 > 0:27:47but make gunpowder as well. It's a rare substance in England.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49Basically, if you have more gunpowder and more cannons
0:27:49 > 0:27:52than anybody else, then technically you've won.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54You can bring more stuff to bear.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Finally, at about eight in the evening on 12th July,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02Mary arrives at Framlingham Castle in Suffolk
0:28:02 > 0:28:05and is greeted by an overwhelming display of support.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08We know from accounts that when she arrives at Framlingham
0:28:08 > 0:28:10the commons and gentry, you know,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13several hundred thousands are gathered in the Deer Park,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16which must be a kind of heartening experience,
0:28:16 > 0:28:19to come here and see the local people here ready to greet her,
0:28:19 > 0:28:21ready to defend her.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23This was going to be the base, if you like,
0:28:23 > 0:28:25from which she was going to engage the enemy,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28so this was going to be really important for the next few days.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31So, to come here to a fortress, a stronghold,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34with an army camped outside and to feel that she was embedded
0:28:34 > 0:28:37within the support of the local community.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Really important. I think she could probably, for the first time,
0:28:40 > 0:28:41maybe take a small sigh of relief,
0:28:41 > 0:28:44and then obviously galvanise herself, get ready to galvanise
0:28:44 > 0:28:48the army, ready for what would seem to have been the impending battle.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53It's remarkable that, in a matter of days,
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Mary has been able to rally such substantial forces.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01No-one expected Mary to be so organised.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04Mary had never shown this sort of capacity
0:29:04 > 0:29:05for organising, essentially,
0:29:05 > 0:29:08not only really anything of great substance,
0:29:08 > 0:29:11but also military force in that amount of time.
0:29:12 > 0:29:17Mary ended the 12th in a far stronger position than she had begun it.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20The next 24 hours would prove critical.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34On the morning of the 13th,
0:29:34 > 0:29:38there a frenzy of activity at Durham House on the banks of the Thames.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42Northumberland's army are about to ride out to Framlingham,
0:29:42 > 0:29:44and they are a formidable sight.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47He's got very good reason to be confident.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51The military force that she has available to her, in his mind,
0:29:51 > 0:29:53is probably armed peasants.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56They will not be that effectively armed.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00He, on the other hand, has a much more experienced and well-armed force.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03Probably the total size of the force that he puts together
0:30:03 > 0:30:06is about 3,000 strong. And while that doesn't sound that many,
0:30:06 > 0:30:102,000 of those soldiers are cavalry -
0:30:10 > 0:30:13men at arms who are heavily armoured.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17In battle they would have, you know, looked almost like a tank.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20These are men clad from head to foot in armour,
0:30:20 > 0:30:24armed with lances and swords and maces, and they could do
0:30:24 > 0:30:29an awful lot of damage against poorly-armed peasants.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32That's the sort of battle he's expecting, but just in case,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35he's also going to take along a very powerful artillery force
0:30:35 > 0:30:40of at least 30 pieces of cannon, and he must believe at this point,
0:30:40 > 0:30:42or at least he DOES believe at this point,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45that Mary is going to have no cannon to oppose him with.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49And so all the cards at this early stage seem to be in his favour.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52As Northumberland prepared to leave,
0:30:52 > 0:30:55he took one last opportunity to address the Council.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59He spoke on behalf of, "The whole army that now goes forth
0:30:59 > 0:31:02"for the establishing of the Queen's Highness."
0:31:02 > 0:31:05He reminded them of the "Sacred, holy oath of allegiance
0:31:05 > 0:31:08"made freely by you to this virtuous lady."
0:31:08 > 0:31:13"Jane," he said, "was only there by your and our enticement."
0:31:13 > 0:31:18And he warned them that "If you mean deceit, God will revenge the same."
0:31:21 > 0:31:23Northumberland's speech,
0:31:23 > 0:31:27reported by someone who was in the Tower of London when he made it,
0:31:27 > 0:31:30betrays the fracture lines in Jane's Council.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35This is an impassioned reminder that they signed their names
0:31:35 > 0:31:40to the device that put her on the throne, and they must stand by it.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46As Northumberland leads his army through the streets of London,
0:31:46 > 0:31:49the crowds gather to see him pass...
0:31:51 > 0:31:54..but the cheering he expects doesn't come.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59And outside the capital,
0:31:59 > 0:32:03Northumberland can expect an even more hostile reception.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Northumberland, remember, is very unpopular in the country.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12Why? Cos he's the guy who put down the popular revolts of 1549
0:32:12 > 0:32:15using German and Genoese mercenaries.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25Four years earlier, Northumberland had been dispatched to East Anglia,
0:32:25 > 0:32:28the very same place he's heading now,
0:32:28 > 0:32:32to put down a rebellion of local people with his well-armed troops.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37Yes, it all kicked off in East Anglia,
0:32:37 > 0:32:42and this was described as Kett's Rebellion, led by Robert Kett.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45What motivates someone to go out and protest, just like today,
0:32:45 > 0:32:47is a variety of factors, but here in particular,
0:32:47 > 0:32:52it was socioeconomic factors, it was people were really cross about
0:32:52 > 0:32:56large landowners enclosing land, and people just had had enough.
0:32:56 > 0:32:58People felt like they weren't being listened to,
0:32:58 > 0:33:00they went being respected, all of that.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04And so when a rebellion kicks off, it is always dangerous.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Northumberland's response was vicious.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13Ringleaders were rounded up and brutally executed.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17When he reaches Framlingham,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20he'll be facing people who remember the rebellion...
0:33:21 > 0:33:23..people who have reason to hate him,
0:33:23 > 0:33:26who've joined Mary because they have a score to settle.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Mary has now been at Framlingham for 24 hours,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36and gradually events are beginning to swing in her favour.
0:33:37 > 0:33:42She looks out into the deer park, and she sees local gentry,
0:33:42 > 0:33:46commons gathering, and of course those people will become her army.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48For her, she believes that those will be the people
0:33:48 > 0:33:50who will secure the throne for her.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52You know, and these are unprecedented times.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56I mean, here we have a woman fighting for the throne,
0:33:56 > 0:34:01and the gathered forces are looking at her as their military commander,
0:34:01 > 0:34:05as a woman. So, completely unprecedented times,
0:34:05 > 0:34:07and they're happy to potentially lay down their life
0:34:07 > 0:34:09in defence of her claim to the throne.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12So, you know, the stakes could not have been higher.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17Momentum is moving to Mary all the time,
0:34:17 > 0:34:21happening so rapidly over days, sometimes even hours,
0:34:21 > 0:34:24so decisions are having to be made on a split second.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27You know, you could almost count from morning to afternoon
0:34:27 > 0:34:30the vast increase in the number of people that are moving north
0:34:30 > 0:34:34to surround Mary, to protect her, to support her, and to promote her.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39Grassroots support for Mary begins to have a surprising effect
0:34:39 > 0:34:42on the higher ranks of society -
0:34:42 > 0:34:45people who have, until now, been loyal to Jane.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48The gentry are beginning to move to her.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51We have a lot of people with knighthoods, you know,
0:34:51 > 0:34:53the sort of Sirs of the realm.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58And there's one event in Ipswich, 20 miles from Framlingham,
0:34:58 > 0:35:02which appears to confirm the tide is decisively turning against Jane.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04It involves a local dignitary,
0:35:04 > 0:35:09one who's well-respected in East Anglia, Sir Thomas Cornwallis.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16Sir Thomas Cornwallis is the Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19He's backing Jane, the Queen chosen by the Privy Council.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23Cornwallis gives Jane a strategically powerful ally
0:35:23 > 0:35:25and significant military resources.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29More significant still because he's based in Mary's heartland.
0:35:31 > 0:35:36When one of Mary's men arrived at the market place in Ipswich
0:35:36 > 0:35:38and proclaims Mary the Queen of England,
0:35:38 > 0:35:40Cornwallis immediately protests.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47One eyewitness says that popular support for Mary was so great
0:35:47 > 0:35:51that Cornwallis stood in grave peril of his life for supporting Jane.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59Cornwallis realises that he's dangerously underestimated
0:35:59 > 0:36:02the popularity of Mary among the ordinary people.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08He comes here to Framlingham, where he gets an audience with Mary.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11He kneels before her and begs her forgiveness.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13This is a big deal,
0:36:13 > 0:36:17and this is what we see gradually over the days of July,
0:36:17 > 0:36:21that, in a way, the impossible gradually becomes possible.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24People, significant figures in East Anglia, you know,
0:36:24 > 0:36:28the local lieutenants who would never, you would imagine,
0:36:28 > 0:36:32have declared for Mary, actually initially declare for Lady Jane
0:36:32 > 0:36:34and then change their allegiance.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40The defection of Cornwallis isn't an isolated incident.
0:36:40 > 0:36:45Across the country, noblemen are finding themselves unexpectedly under pressure.
0:36:47 > 0:36:53It becomes apparent that the common mood of the realm is pro-Mary.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57Noblemen discovered that their tenants were refusing to fight
0:36:57 > 0:37:00for them, and just as a King needed his nobles to fight for him,
0:37:00 > 0:37:02nobles needed their tenants to fight for them.
0:37:02 > 0:37:06That's how it all works, you know, everyone worked for everyone else.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09And, again, if you're a noblemen and your tenants aren't going to support
0:37:09 > 0:37:12you, your affinity aren't going to support you, you're nothing.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14You're nobody, you're just a bloke.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21The Earl of Oxford finds himself facing exactly this dilemma.
0:37:22 > 0:37:27When he's summoned to support Jane, dozens of his own men confront him.
0:37:27 > 0:37:32They say that if he doesn't defect to Mary, they'll go without him.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35And he has to give in.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38Oxford and his men join Mary's forces.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43We're seeing something extraordinary.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46How the feeling that Jane is the wrong woman on the throne
0:37:46 > 0:37:50has started with the people, but it's so powerful that it begins
0:37:50 > 0:37:52to force the political elite into action.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57And that's what's so precarious in this July crisis,
0:37:57 > 0:38:01that some of these key figures in East Anglia, who initially
0:38:01 > 0:38:05declare for Lady Jane, then suddenly swing and support Mary.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09And it's by turning their loyalty from one side to the other
0:38:09 > 0:38:12that they basically bring an army of hundreds and potentially
0:38:12 > 0:38:15several thousand people in defence of Mary,
0:38:15 > 0:38:18as opposed to Lady Jane, which makes all the difference.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21Mary, the old King's daughter, is a powerful figurehead
0:38:21 > 0:38:25for whom people are prepared to lay down their lives.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27Jane is the exact opposite.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30So young and almost completely unknown,
0:38:30 > 0:38:33at this critical point hidden away in the Tower,
0:38:33 > 0:38:37she's a distant figure to the people whose Queen she claims to be.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48As a privileged young girl, Jane's life had been sheltered.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52She saw little of the world outside her home in the Royal Court.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55And, more significantly in this moment of crisis,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57the world had rarely seen her.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00This is the geography of Jane's world.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03There are five key places -
0:39:03 > 0:39:05Syon House,
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Chelsea,
0:39:07 > 0:39:08Durham House,
0:39:08 > 0:39:10The Tower of London,
0:39:10 > 0:39:12and Greenwich Palace.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17They cluster along the river, and for very good reason.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20Everyone depended on the river for travel.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24For Jane, it was the thread that connected the places in her life.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38The streets of London were narrow, cramped and dangerous.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42Hello, Mark. Lovely to see you.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45Like the rest of the Court,
0:39:45 > 0:39:49Jane relied on the relative safety and comfort of travelling by river.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58Try and get in time, number two.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07Is this the closest I'm ever going to get to
0:40:07 > 0:40:11- being on a 16th century barge? - It really is, yes.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Other than the fact that this wasn't actually built in the 16th century,
0:40:14 > 0:40:18it's only 25 years old, this is, in effect, a 16th century barge.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22Mark Edwards made the present Queen's barge,
0:40:22 > 0:40:26and this Tudor replica was built using traditional techniques.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31It's the same design, built in the same way.
0:40:31 > 0:40:32It really is, yes.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43Should I be imagining Jane Grey sitting under a canopy like this?
0:40:43 > 0:40:45This is a fairly ornamental,
0:40:45 > 0:40:50but very practical, canopy for sun and light rain.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54They did have a much more homely set-up where they had great hoops...
0:40:56 > 0:40:59..pulled across, and they'd literally bring out a tapestry
0:40:59 > 0:41:02or something like a carpet, and bring that right the way across,
0:41:02 > 0:41:06so we'd actually be in the dark here, much more isolated.
0:41:10 > 0:41:16Unlike Mary, Jane's life up to this point had not been a public one.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20Her time had been spent in study and prayer...
0:41:21 > 0:41:24..and as a result, she had become a role model
0:41:24 > 0:41:26for other Protestant noblewomen.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31She's educated to be an example to others.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36When she's only sort of 14, she's getting letters from adult women
0:41:36 > 0:41:39saying that they admire her for her learning and holiness.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43So she already realises that she's up there on a pedestal.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49Jane's power base is starting to look dangerously narrow,
0:41:49 > 0:41:52pitted against Mary's popularity with the people.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58And without Northumberland to hold the Privy Council together,
0:41:58 > 0:42:00cracks are beginning to show.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06When Northumberland left the Council, he'd created a vacuum,
0:42:06 > 0:42:11so that there began to be a struggle between those who still supported
0:42:11 > 0:42:15Northumberland, and those who were wavering on the fence
0:42:15 > 0:42:18and reacted quite negatively to Jane's assertion
0:42:18 > 0:42:20that she would not make Guildford King.
0:42:20 > 0:42:25Jane knows that if the Privy Council begin to waver in their support for her,
0:42:25 > 0:42:30it will be a catastrophe that will leave her vulnerable and exposed.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33But for now, alone in the Tower,
0:42:33 > 0:42:37there are only limited ways in which she can play the part of Queen.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42She calls for a list to be drawn up of royal jewels and other valuables,
0:42:42 > 0:42:45which, as monarch, are now her property.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49An inventory was made for Jane on 14th July,
0:42:49 > 0:42:51the fifth day of the reign.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53What was it listing?
0:42:53 > 0:42:59It was listing almost 600 items of jewellery that were
0:42:59 > 0:43:02part of the Royal Wardrobe of Westminster.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05So, the Royal Wardrobe was something that supplied everything
0:43:05 > 0:43:08a monarch could need. It wasn't just clothing and jewellery,
0:43:08 > 0:43:11it was everything from, sort of, spices to gunpowder,
0:43:11 > 0:43:14anything that the King or Queen might need.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17But this is particularly jewellery that you would wear.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19Not the Crown Jewels, but things like
0:43:19 > 0:43:23the decoration that would go around a woman's headdress, jewelled.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27Things like the gold and silver tips that would go on the laces
0:43:27 > 0:43:31that would tie, you know, your sleeves to your bodice.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34And also, sort of, brooches, crosses.
0:43:34 > 0:43:38Why do you think Jane was asking for this list to be made?
0:43:38 > 0:43:40I would love to know.
0:43:40 > 0:43:45I wonder whether she was potentially looking for the types of things
0:43:45 > 0:43:49she should wear now that were appropriate for her new royal standing.
0:43:49 > 0:43:54Of course, power dressing is incredibly important to the Tudors.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58And whatever her own feelings might have been about plainer dressing,
0:43:58 > 0:43:59it was still very important,
0:43:59 > 0:44:03this conspicuous consumption for the Royal family,
0:44:03 > 0:44:05and particularly for the monarch, for the sovereign,
0:44:05 > 0:44:11to be seen as this glittering person that really was the top of society.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14And we can see that from the first Protestant coronation,
0:44:14 > 0:44:19the coronation of Edward VI her cousin, that he isn't downplayed.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23He's wearing things just as luscious and sumptuous as all the previous coronations.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27For Jane, the symbols of power, like power itself,
0:44:27 > 0:44:30would never really be hers.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33She would not reign long enough for a coronation to take place.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45On 15th July, Northumberland's forces are heading for Cambridge,
0:44:45 > 0:44:50where he plans to pause and wait for his artillery train and infantry to catch up.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55And we think he reaches Cambridge probably by the evening of the 15th,
0:44:55 > 0:44:59so he is in position up in Cambridge,
0:44:59 > 0:45:02and you can see quite clearly, I hope, now, Helen,
0:45:02 > 0:45:05that his position there is a strategic position.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08It's going to take him longer to get to Framlingham,
0:45:08 > 0:45:11but actually it makes a certain amount of logical military sense.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13Because then she's in a stranglehold,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16his land forces are on one side of her,
0:45:16 > 0:45:19the ships he sent are at sea on the other side of her -
0:45:19 > 0:45:21there's really nowhere for her to go.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23Exactly. What can go wrong?
0:45:26 > 0:45:31Northumberland has Mary surrounded, and although she has a growing army,
0:45:31 > 0:45:34she can't match his firepower.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38But it's here that Northumberland has a massive stroke of bad luck.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42Well, it is a sequence of very unfortunate events, actually,
0:45:42 > 0:45:46and the first of them, and we often forget the importance of weather,
0:45:46 > 0:45:49but the first of them is climatic,
0:45:49 > 0:45:52in the sense that there was a heavy
0:45:52 > 0:45:56north-easterly wind driving the Royal ships
0:45:56 > 0:45:59that were actually supposed to be stationed offshore,
0:45:59 > 0:46:02not actually that close to the coast, a couple of leagues offshore,
0:46:02 > 0:46:05which is going to allow them to remain in a blocking position,
0:46:05 > 0:46:10but the bad weather forces them to take refuge in the Orwell Estuary.
0:46:10 > 0:46:14As chance would have it, one of Mary's household, Henry Jerningham,
0:46:14 > 0:46:20is in a local tavern and falls to talking about the naval forces off the coast.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Some time during the evening, he learns that ships laden
0:46:25 > 0:46:29with soldiers and weaponry are anchored nearby at Orwell Haven.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32The crews are owed money.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34Jerningham spots an opportunity.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39Riding to the harbour, Jerningham finds the ships
0:46:39 > 0:46:42and succeeds in persuading the unhappy captain and crew
0:46:42 > 0:46:45to change sides in favour of Mary.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48Now, this was a massive coup, because, you know,
0:46:48 > 0:46:52these are ships that have been sent on behalf of Lady Jane,
0:46:52 > 0:46:55essentially representing the Government at that point.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59Now, in part, they were protesting because of pay and conditions, as often is the case,
0:46:59 > 0:47:02but they were also declaring in support of the Mary.
0:47:02 > 0:47:07And that mutiny brings her more men, it brings her control of the coast,
0:47:07 > 0:47:09and it brings her guns.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12Yes, I mean, all of this is important, because her army is
0:47:12 > 0:47:16growing, and, of course, you know, she needs more munitions.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18Mary has no cannon at Framlingham.
0:47:18 > 0:47:23All of a sudden, five of the six ships are now going to help Mary
0:47:23 > 0:47:27by unloading their cannon and moving them, dragging them,
0:47:27 > 0:47:31quite a serious logistical feat, towards Framlingham Castle, where,
0:47:31 > 0:47:35when they are in position there, they will actually outgun the number
0:47:35 > 0:47:38of cannon that Northumberland is bringing with him from London.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41And, not only do you get the cannon and their ammunition,
0:47:41 > 0:47:43but you also get trained gunners,
0:47:43 > 0:47:46and the Royal Navy at this time is undergoing something of
0:47:46 > 0:47:49a revolution, but it is one of the finest in the world,
0:47:49 > 0:47:53and those guns are going to prove very effective in a fight.
0:47:54 > 0:47:59The mutiny is one of the key moments that shows that, suddenly,
0:47:59 > 0:48:02Mary is not only gaining support rapidly,
0:48:02 > 0:48:06but actually becoming more than simply a contender and is actually
0:48:06 > 0:48:10seriously now challenging the claim of Lady Jane, and in a decisive way.
0:48:11 > 0:48:16Up until this point, Mary's had support but no artillery.
0:48:16 > 0:48:17Now she has both.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22Jane's hold on the throne is looking increasingly vulnerable.
0:48:34 > 0:48:39On 16th July, the devastating news of the mutiny sends shock waves
0:48:39 > 0:48:42through the Privy Council. They begin to ask if
0:48:42 > 0:48:46it's God's punishment for denying Mary her blood right.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51And the sheer numbers of ordinary people turning to Mary
0:48:51 > 0:48:54is unnerving even the most ardent supporters of Jane.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58Then more alarming news reaches the Tower -
0:48:58 > 0:49:02local leaders in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire have declared for Mary
0:49:02 > 0:49:04and raised a militia against Jane.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06Without Northumberland,
0:49:06 > 0:49:10there's no-one Jane can trust to take control of the situation.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14Well, there's still an opportunity for the Royal forces to put them down
0:49:14 > 0:49:18if the various Justices of the Peace had acted in accordance
0:49:18 > 0:49:21with the instructions being sent out from London to make sure
0:49:21 > 0:49:25that if there's any rising of pro-Mary forces in the country,
0:49:25 > 0:49:27they are dealt with. And some of them were,
0:49:27 > 0:49:30some of them were ignoring, and some of them were supporting Mary,
0:49:30 > 0:49:33but I think the overall lesson to learn from this is that
0:49:33 > 0:49:36Northumberland and the members of the Privy Council
0:49:36 > 0:49:40underestimated the level of latent support,
0:49:40 > 0:49:43which later became overt support, for Mary in the country as a whole.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47Jane's house of cards is beginning to collapse.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50Mary's no longer trapped in East Anglia,
0:49:50 > 0:49:53and her support is spreading through the Thames Valley as far as London.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56London was under threat.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59The old city had to look to its defences.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01Orders were given to lock up the Tower
0:50:01 > 0:50:03and post guards on the city gates.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07London, a fortified city, was making ready for attack.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14To see how London became a Tudor fortress,
0:50:14 > 0:50:18I've come to see the first-ever printed map of the city,
0:50:18 > 0:50:19dating from 1572.
0:50:23 > 0:50:25Wow, this is some volume.
0:50:25 > 0:50:30You get an immediate sense of how the Tower here, on the east side,
0:50:30 > 0:50:33role as the defence of the city against shipping
0:50:33 > 0:50:36- coming in from the east. - Absolutely, there it is,
0:50:36 > 0:50:39the southeast extent of the city rather well fortified.
0:50:39 > 0:50:44And also quite threatening and foreboding. You have here a cell,
0:50:44 > 0:50:45a caged cell on the water line,
0:50:45 > 0:50:48where people could be subjected to the tides,
0:50:48 > 0:50:50and some spiked heads on sticks.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53Oh, my goodness, you need good eyes to see those!
0:50:53 > 0:50:56But, yes, so this is a real statement of Royal power.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58Absolutely, a statement of Royal power,
0:50:58 > 0:51:00and foreboding for anybody entering the city.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02In terms of the city itself...
0:51:03 > 0:51:06..you can really get a sense of...
0:51:07 > 0:51:10..how defensible it might be.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13Absolutely, and what's fascinating about that is how that was obviously
0:51:13 > 0:51:16a concern of the early map-makers,
0:51:16 > 0:51:19and the royal family and the leaders.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23If you put the Tower together with this city wall that goes
0:51:23 > 0:51:27right round the city, and gates at various points that could be shut...
0:51:27 > 0:51:29Absolutely, and indeed a moat.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32And the fact that there's only one bridge, of course means the river
0:51:32 > 0:51:35- is also a natural defence.- Only one bridge with gates on the bridge
0:51:35 > 0:51:38- and a wooden section that could be burned.- Thought of everything!- Yep.
0:51:38 > 0:51:42Five days ago, the city and its Tower had been Jane's power base,
0:51:42 > 0:51:47but now the tables have turned, and she's preparing it against attack.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50The powerful nobles surrounding Jane are beginning to fear that
0:51:50 > 0:51:54they have backed the wrong Queen, and they're well aware what
0:51:54 > 0:51:57their fate might be if that proves to be the case.
0:51:57 > 0:52:01What would a convicted traitor have to look forward to,
0:52:01 > 0:52:02if that's the right word?
0:52:02 > 0:52:05That would depend very much on your social status.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07If you were a peer of the realm or a female equivalent,
0:52:07 > 0:52:09you would be executed by beheading,
0:52:09 > 0:52:12which is a fairly quick, fairly clean death.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15If you are a commoner, you could be subjected to
0:52:15 > 0:52:18hanging, drawing and quartering, which is absolutely horrendous.
0:52:18 > 0:52:22This involves being hanged symbolically,
0:52:22 > 0:52:24so you're cut down while you're still alive,
0:52:24 > 0:52:27you're then disembowelled, you're castrated,
0:52:27 > 0:52:32your entrails and your private parts are burned in a brazier, in a fire,
0:52:32 > 0:52:34on the actual scaffold.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37And you're then beheaded and quartered -
0:52:37 > 0:52:38your body is cut into four quarters,
0:52:38 > 0:52:41which are exhibited on top of castle gates, etc.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45There's a variety of things that can happen to you, none of them very pleasant.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49Jane, too, knows from personal experience how quickly
0:52:49 > 0:52:52fortunes can change, with deadly consequences.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54At the age of ten or 11,
0:52:54 > 0:52:57she was sent from her home at Bradgate in Leicestershire
0:52:57 > 0:52:59to a household in London.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02Jane was to be the ward of Thomas Seymour and his new wife,
0:53:02 > 0:53:05Catherine Parr, the widowed Queen of Henry VIII.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09It was a politically advantageous arrangement for the Grey family.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14Jane had been with the Seymours for a year when Catherine Parr
0:53:14 > 0:53:17gave birth, and six days later, died.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22Jane returned home, but stayed in close contact with her guardian.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27This is the letter Jane wrote to Thomas Seymour
0:53:27 > 0:53:29in the autumn of 1548.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32"These, my letters, shall be to testify unto you that,
0:53:32 > 0:53:37"like as you have become towards me a loving and kind father,
0:53:37 > 0:53:43"so I shall be always most ready to obey your godly monitions
0:53:43 > 0:53:45"and good instructions."
0:53:46 > 0:53:49Jane was about 11 when she wrote this letter.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53She's writing to someone who's become a father figure to her.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57But Seymour was a man of vast ambition,
0:53:57 > 0:54:00and a few months later his pursuit of power led to his downfall.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04He was even accused of trying to kidnap the King
0:54:04 > 0:54:07here at Hampton Court Palace.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11It was reported that he was caught trying to break into
0:54:11 > 0:54:14the Royal apartments when the King's dog started to bark
0:54:14 > 0:54:16and, in a panic, Thomas killed it.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19He was arrested and sent to the Tower.
0:54:20 > 0:54:26The man who had been Jane's guardian was now sentenced to death as a traitor.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31The brutal reality of politics at the highest level
0:54:31 > 0:54:34was a lesson Jane had learn very young.
0:54:37 > 0:54:42But even though she knows the risks, there is no going back for Jane.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45She has worn the crown, she has taken a stand,
0:54:45 > 0:54:47now she must see it through.
0:54:47 > 0:54:52Her last hope lies in keeping the loyalty of the Privy Council.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55But without Northumberland's reassuring presence,
0:54:55 > 0:54:57they begin to falter.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00In the corridors and the quiet places of the Tower,
0:55:00 > 0:55:02the men of the Privy Council were unnerved.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05Sir Edmund Peckham, one of the Royal treasurers,
0:55:05 > 0:55:07had already gone missing.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09Jane responds by ordering a strong guard
0:55:09 > 0:55:12to be mounted around the Tower walls.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15If Jane couldn't count on the loyalty of her Council,
0:55:15 > 0:55:18she'd imprison them with her in her fortress.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21Jane commanded that they be locked into the Tower
0:55:21 > 0:55:23and the keys turned over to her personally.
0:55:23 > 0:55:27So, you get this incredibly poignant sense that the Tower
0:55:27 > 0:55:31is shifting around Jane, shifting from palace to prison.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34She did become a prisoner without knowing it,
0:55:34 > 0:55:37because these members of the Council that were beginning to revolt,
0:55:37 > 0:55:41if you will, or shift direction, had moved out of the Tower,
0:55:41 > 0:55:44so she didn't have any direct knowledge of what they were up to.
0:55:45 > 0:55:47Jane continues to assert her power,
0:55:47 > 0:55:52sending out letters to key officials to demand their support.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56That, and her decision to hold the keys to the Tower herself,
0:55:56 > 0:55:59might look like an assertion of power
0:55:59 > 0:56:03but, in fact, it's a response to an increasingly precarious position.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07Outside the Tower's walls, there's a growing sense
0:56:07 > 0:56:12that she's standing in the way of the rightful successor, Mary.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15I mean, there's really a sense that more and more people now
0:56:15 > 0:56:18are supporting Mary and, of course, when you see that there's
0:56:18 > 0:56:21this real contender, then suddenly it convinces other people
0:56:21 > 0:56:24to actually throw in their lot with her because, ultimately,
0:56:24 > 0:56:28no-one wants to be on the wrong, on the losing side, as it were.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30So, it's not until Mary begins to actually look like she's got
0:56:30 > 0:56:34a chance that people begin to really throw their lot in with her,
0:56:34 > 0:56:36and that becomes absolutely crucial.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40At this stage, Northumberland's army are still in Cambridge.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43He's joined by his sons and more troops,
0:56:43 > 0:56:47but he doesn't yet know that his mission is in grave danger.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51So, he's now outnumbered, probably by as many as three-to-one,
0:56:51 > 0:56:55but that itself may not have been enough to deter him from continuing on.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57But Mary now has artillery,
0:56:57 > 0:57:02and it's probable that the force of artillery at Framlingham even
0:57:02 > 0:57:06outmatches his own, and so not only is he outnumbered, he's outgunned.
0:57:08 > 0:57:13Over the course of five days, Jane's fortunes have changed dramatically.
0:57:13 > 0:57:18On the 12th, she had the machinery of the Tudor state behind her.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22By the 16th, her palace is becoming a prison,
0:57:22 > 0:57:25and Northumberland, her protector, is far from London.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30Meanwhile, Mary now has a powerful army.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32She has the support of the people,
0:57:32 > 0:57:34and the political elite are beginning to join her.
0:57:36 > 0:57:41Everything now depends on Jane's ability to hold her camp together...
0:57:42 > 0:57:45..but with their allegiances shifting by the day,
0:57:45 > 0:57:47she's starting to look dangerously isolated.
0:57:47 > 0:57:51And if she loses this battle for the crown,
0:57:51 > 0:57:53she'll pay with her life.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57Next time...
0:57:57 > 0:57:59Jane's support is crumbling...
0:57:59 > 0:58:03It's like one penny drops, the rest go, it's like dominoes.
0:58:03 > 0:58:05..a Queen becomes a prisoner,
0:58:05 > 0:58:08and in the end she's sentenced to death.
0:58:08 > 0:58:10Jane had to walk out here,
0:58:10 > 0:58:13lay her head on the block
0:58:13 > 0:58:14and wait for the blade.
0:58:16 > 0:58:20But in her last moments, Jane leaves some private messages for posterity.
0:58:22 > 0:58:25So this is the book she actually carried onto the scaffold
0:58:25 > 0:58:29and handed over just before the blindfolding and the kneeling.