1554 February 12th. Execution of Lady Jane Grey: On the morning the authorities took Lord Guilford Dudley
from his rooms at the Tower of London to the public execution place at Tower Hill and there had him
beheaded. A horse and cart brought his remains back to the Tower of London, past the rooms where
Lady Jane Gray remained as a prisoner.
Lady Jane Gray was then taken to Tower green, inside the Tower of London, and beheaded in private. With fewer, exceptions, only royalty were offered the privilege of a private execution; Lady Jane Gray's execution was conducted in private on the orders of Queen Mary I, as a gesture of respect for her cousin. According to the account of her execution given in the anonymous Chronicle of Queen Jane and of Two Years of Queen Mary I which formed the basis for Raphael Holinshed's depiction, Lady Jane Gray gave a speech upon ascending the scaffold: "Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same. The fact, indeed, 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 be- half, I do wash my hands thereof in innocency, before God, and the face of you, good Christian people, this day". She then recited Psalm 51(Have mercy upon me,O God) in English, and handed her gloves and handkerchief to her maid. John Feckenham, a Catholic chaplain sent by Queen Mary 1 who had failed to convert her, stayed with her during the execution.
The executioner asked her forgiveness, and she gave it. She pleaded the axeman,"I pray you dispatch me quickly." Referring to her head, she asked, "Will you take it off before I lay me down?" and the axe- man answered, "No, madam." She then blindfolded herself. Lady Jane Gray had resolved to go to her death with dignity, but once blindfolded, failing to find the block with her hands, began to panic and cried, "What shall I do? Where is it?" An unknown hand, possibly Sir Thomas Brydges', then helped her find her way and retain her dignity at the end. With her head on the block, Lady Jane Gray spoke the last words of Jesus as recounted by Luke: "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!" She was then beheaded(aged 16/17years. Lady Jane Gray and Lord Guilford Dudley are buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula on the north side of Tower Green.
Lady Jane Gray was then taken to Tower green, inside the Tower of London, and beheaded in private. With fewer, exceptions, only royalty were offered the privilege of a private execution; Lady Jane Gray's execution was conducted in private on the orders of Queen Mary I, as a gesture of respect for her cousin. According to the account of her execution given in the anonymous Chronicle of Queen Jane and of Two Years of Queen Mary I which formed the basis for Raphael Holinshed's depiction, Lady Jane Gray gave a speech upon ascending the scaffold: "Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same. The fact, indeed, 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 be- half, I do wash my hands thereof in innocency, before God, and the face of you, good Christian people, this day". She then recited Psalm 51(Have mercy upon me,O God) in English, and handed her gloves and handkerchief to her maid. John Feckenham, a Catholic chaplain sent by Queen Mary 1 who had failed to convert her, stayed with her during the execution.
The executioner asked her forgiveness, and she gave it. She pleaded the axeman,"I pray you dispatch me quickly." Referring to her head, she asked, "Will you take it off before I lay me down?" and the axe- man answered, "No, madam." She then blindfolded herself. Lady Jane Gray had resolved to go to her death with dignity, but once blindfolded, failing to find the block with her hands, began to panic and cried, "What shall I do? Where is it?" An unknown hand, possibly Sir Thomas Brydges', then helped her find her way and retain her dignity at the end. With her head on the block, Lady Jane Gray spoke the last words of Jesus as recounted by Luke: "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!" She was then beheaded(aged 16/17years. Lady Jane Gray and Lord Guilford Dudley are buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula on the north side of Tower Green.
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