Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk
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Henry Grey, 1st duke of Suffolk, 3rd marquess of Dorset and baron Ferrers of Groby, Harrington, Bonville and Astley (c.1515 – February 23, 1554) was an English nobleman of the Tudor period and the father of Lady Jane Grey.
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Henry VIII's Reign
The son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset and of Margaret Wotton, he became the 3rd Marquess of Dorset in 1530 after his father died. In 1533, with the permission of King Henry VIII he married Lady Frances Brandon (1517 - 1559), the daughter of Henry VIII’s sister Princess Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. The couple had three children who survived infancy: Lady Jane Grey (1537 - 1554), Lady Catherine Grey (1540 - 1568), and Lady Mary Grey (1545 - 1578).
Before Henry VIII's death in 1547, Grey became a fixture in court circles. A knight of the Bath, he was the king's sword bearer at Anne Boleyn's coronation in 1533, at Anne of Cleves's arrival in 1540, and at the capture of Boulogne in 1545. Twice he bore the cap of maintenance in parliament. He helped lead the army in France in 1545. In 1547 he joined the Order of the Garter.
Edward VI's Reign
After Henry VIII's death in 1547, Grey fell out of favor with the leader of King Edward VI's government, Edward Seymour, protector of England and duke of Somerset. Returning to his home in Bradgate, Leicestershire, Grey concentrated on raising his family to greater heights. Thus, with the protector's brother Thomas Lord Seymour, Grey conspired to have his daughter Jane married to the king. This plot failed, ending in Seymour's execution, but Grey emerged unscathed.
In 1549, John Dudley, earl of Warwick, overthrew the protectorship and secured power by appointing loyal friends to the privy council. Grey joined the council as a part of this group. As a reward, he was created duke of Suffolk on 11 October 1551, in the same ceremony that elevated John Dudley to the duchy of Northumberland.
Protestantism
Henry Grey was best known for his zeal for the Protestant faith. The Swiss reformer Henry Bullinger dedicated a book to him in 1551 and frequently corresponded with the family. In parliament and on the privy council, Grey pushed for further Protestant reforms. He is credited for making Leicestershire one of the most reliably Protestant counties in early modern England.
Queen Jane
As the father of Lady Jane Grey, Grey tried, with the help of Northumberland, to have his daughter installed as queen after Edward VI died (6 July 1553). She was the nearest Protestant claimant to the throne of England. This attempt ultimately failed (19 July 1553). By the friendship his wife shared with the new Queen Mary I, Grey and his daughter temporarily avoided execution.
Mary had Henry Grey beheaded on February 23, 1554, after his conviction of treason for his part in Sir Thomas Wyatt's attempt (January - February 1554) to overthrow her after she announced her intention to marry King Philip II of Spain.
| Preceded by: New Creation | Duke of Suffolk | Succeeded by: Forfeit |
References
- FactMonster.com entry for "Suffolk, Henry Grey, duke of" (http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/people/A0847114.html), accessed 2004
- AllRefer.com biography "Suffolk, Henry Grey, duke of" (http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/S/SuffolkH.html) from British And Irish History section, accessed 2003
- Robert C. Braddock, ‘Grey, Henry, duke of Suffolk (1517-1554)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.