My Lady Jane: Did Lady Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley marry in real life?

My Lady Jane brought us an alternate version of Lady Jane Grey’s story. Some of it followed real events, but was the marriage of Lady Jany Grey and Lord Guildford Dudley one of those moments?

At the start of the series, Jane learned that she was to marry Guildford, the eldest son of Lord Dudley. This was a way for Frances to gain money after the death of her husband, but it was something Jane detested. She tried hard to avoid the marriage, going as far as faking that she had the affliction on her wedding day.

Her mother knew exactly what she was doing, and the marriage still went through. Now there are questions about whether it happened in real life. With so much being alternate history, we’re taking a look at what happened between Jane and Guildford in real life.

Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guildford married in My Lady Jane

Sure enough, the couple married in the TV series. Neither of them wanted it, but it was clear there was chemistry between them. What about in real life?

Yes, the two married in real history. However, Guildford wasn’t the elder son of Lord Dudley. He was the younger son, so this marriage was rather irregular. It wouldn’t have made a lot of sense for the Greys to agree to this. It all came down to who Lord Dudley was to King Edward VI—someone who could convince Edward to change the line of succession. He could convince Edward to put Jane on the throne, which would make his son the Prince Consort.

They married in May 1553, but it wouldn’t last for long. In July 1553, King Edward VI died (presumably of TB) and the privy council supported the move to put Jane on the throne. That was until Mary and Elizabeth gained the support of the people (and later the privy council) to put Mary on the throne.

Jane and her husband were held in the Tower of London after Mary I took the throne back. This was until February 1554. Jane’s father was involved in an uprising against Mary, and Mary couldn’t risk allowing Jane to live longer. The two were executed for treason on Feb. 12, 1554.