Jane Grey

On February 12, 1554, Jane Gray, Queen of England, was executed at the age of 16.

character brief introduction

Jane Gray was born in 1537 with an ill-fated fate. Her status as queen has always been controversial. In 1553, she reigned for only nine days and was not officially counted as Queen of England. Her succession violated British Acts of Parliament, and although this was not unique in British history, her throne was later denied. Jane Gray is not included in the official list of British kings. Even the date of her accession to the throne is controversial in history. Some people believe that she became Queen on July 6, 1553, the day of the death of King Edward VI. According to this statement, she should be called the "Thirteenth Queen"; others believe that she officially became Queen on July 10 and was dismissed on July 19.

Jane Gray's succession to the throne came from her mother, the daughter of King Henry VII of England. After Jane Gray was overthrown, she was executed in London at the age of 16.

On February 12, 1554, Jane's husband Guilford was first executed outside the tower. Before his death, he had asked to see his wife again. Mary allowed it, but Jane refused. She said meeting would disrupt the sacred tranquility they had prepared for death and would only make the husband weaker rather than stronger. Jane cried in public when his body was returned to the tower. She was subsequently secretly executed in the tower. Jane calmly walked towards death, with his last words being Jesus 'words on the cross: "Lord, I commit my soul into your hands."¡»

Jane was buried under the floor of the Tannet Church, next to the beheaded wives of Henry VIII, and there was no funeral. After Mary ascended the throne, she placed her half-sister Elizabeth under house arrest, reversed her father and brother's practice of promoting Protestantism, brought Britain back to the Catholic Church, and brutally suppressed Protestantism. She was known as "Bloody Mary." Her policies further divided the empire and disrupted society. After the death of Mary in 1558, Elizabeth I ascended the throne, restored the religious reform, restored national prestige, and led Britain into the golden age. Elizabeth never married and was known as the "Virgin Queen" in history.

Execution of Jane Gray

Jane Gray's execution is an oil painting by H. Paul Delaroche and is now in the National Gallery. This painting depicts the execution of Jane Gray in prison. The painter used the execution of Gray to express a concept and emotion, that is, the tragedy of the destruction of beauty and goodness. The painter was full of affection and superb artistic skills to portray a kind, pure, beautiful and innocent girl who was about to be guillotine. Her blindfolded eyes and a butcher knife that could not see evil were still testing the fate of her life with her hands. At this point, this moment before the execution made both the friends in prison sad and the viewers cry. And the priest, the embodiment of the divine God, is leading Gray, the embodiment of beauty and good, to death. The picture is shrouded in darkness, but Gray, who is decorated in plain white, shines brightly like a bright lamp in the darkness.