Guildford Dudley

Guildford Dudley in a 19th century illustration

Lord Guildford Dudley (sometimes also Guilford; * around 1535 ; † February 12, 1554 in London ) was an English nobleman and briefly Royal Consort of England and Ireland through marriage to Lady Jane Gray .

He was the son of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland , and Jane Guildford, and the younger brother of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester .

During the reign of Edward VI. became Guildford's father after the execution of Lord Protector Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset , chairman of the Privy Council . John Dudley feared that Edward's Catholic half-sister, Mary , could become queen. He had therefore changed the line of succession so that Lady Jane Gray should ascend the throne. To make sure that England would no longer come under Catholic rule, he married Lady Jane Gray to his son Guildford.

After Edward's death, it was hastened to proclaim Lady Jane Gray queen. However, their reign was only to last nine days. The Gray and Dudley families agreed to also crown Guildford king, but Jane only wanted to make him Duke of Clarence. This caused an upset with her husband's family.

Jane Gray, however, lost the throne to Maria I. She and her husband were brought to the Tower of London , but were allowed to move about freely and resided in the Gentleman Gaolers apartments. However, after the Thomas Wyatt uprising in 1554, Jane and Guildford were seen as a potential threat to future uprisings. After some hesitation, Queen Mary signed the death sentences, including on Jane's father, the Duke of Suffolk .

Guildford was escorted to Tower Hill and publicly executed. His body was buried in the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula .

There is an engraving IANE on the wall of the Tower of London (the J was not used until the 18th century), it is believed that this was engraved by Guildford. It could also mean his mother, who was also called Jane.

literature

• GJ Richardson: Dudley, Lord Guildford (c.1535-1554). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of October 2008 (not viewed).
• (Richard Watson Dixon):  Dudley, Guildford . In: Leslie Stephen (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 16:  Drant - Edridge. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1888, p. 102 (English).

Web links

• Lord Guilford Dudley, on thepeerage.com , accessed October 4, 2015.

predecessor	Office	successor
Catherine Parr	Royal Consort of England and Ireland 1553	Philip of Spain