Thursday, July 10, 2025

It is the 10th of July 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Today, we head back to the 16th century and the always intriguing, yet sometimes confusing, world of English crown intrigue.

And yes, it was just the 4th of July here in America- but let me tell you something, we are obsessed with the British Monarchy- loving rent-free in our heads since 1776. Can I tell a quick story? I was at the University of St. Andrews at the turn of the century as a student along with Prince William, now heir to the crown. He seemed chill enough- people liked “Wills”- you know the worst part? All the American girls raised on Disney movies who all thought they could woo the prince and end up as a queen.

Although it’s trickier than that… and maybe if they read a little history, they would realize that historically making machinations on the British crown is one of the quicker ways to lose your head. Just ask Lady Jane Grey- emo teenager and Nine Day Queen. Or was it 13?

A quick primer- Henry VIII is the Tudor King who broke from the Roman Catholic Church, ushering in the Reformation. Dude wants a son- the portly king likes, and tires quickly of women. Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour (Medicine Woman), Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Katherine Parr.

Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived.

The first Catherine birthed Mary (future Queen), Anne Boleyn birthed Elizabeth (future Queen), and it was Henry’s third wife who gave him his male heir, Edward VI, who was notably raised as a Protestant.

But he was a sickly boy and at 15 had to plan for his succession in the event of his untimely death. Edward was concerned that his successor be a male (there had never been a queen Regnant- that is, as sole ruler) and he needed to be a Protestant. But by June of 1553, Edward was increasingly sick, and there was no obvious male Protestant. Elizabeth was preferable to Mary, for a Protestant- but Mary was first in line and so Edward cut that line off and instead, with the machinations of his council, decided that the crown would go to his cousin- the great niece of his father (and yes, I pencilled out the family tree for myself- ooh boy!) Lady Jane Grey. She, too, was 15 and Protestant. She had been raised in the house of Seymour- Thomas Seymour was the brother of the late queen Jane Seymour and thus Edward’s uncle. There were plans to marry Jane Grey and Edward, but they fizzled, and the Seymours fell out of favor.

Instead, Jane was married off to Lord Guildford, the son of the King’s Protector John Dudley. The two were married, and within months, Edward was dead. You can only imagine what a tumultuous time this was- the stability of England and by extension all of Europe was on the line. Edward died on the 9th of July, and only his closest advisors knew what was next. Jane’s father—in-law, Dudley, called her to his London home where he broke the news that she was the new queen of England (and by extension, his son could be king). Two notable things happen- first, the moody teen breaks down in tears, finally accepts, and then says she won’t be crowned until her parents arrive (if she is queen from the time Edward dies, it’s 13 days; if it's from her coronation, it’s 9 days). The second thing she does, once she agrees to be Queen, is to refuse her husband the title of King and make him Duke of Clarence, instead.

As was the custom, the royal couple stayed on the grounds of the Tower of London until her coronation.  

But Dudley and Jane and the Protestant cabal didn’t read the population. “The English Reformation” is not a foregone conclusion, and the English people favored stability over theological precision when it came to their rulers. Also, contrary to centuries of Protestant propaganda, Mary was popular. And she was old (well, in her 30s) and this made her not only more stable, but old monarchs were like British weather- if you don’t care for it, just wait a bit and it will change.

Mary knew she had popular backing and raised an army big enough that Dudley and the Protestant faction folded quickly. Mary pronounced herself queen on the 19th of June- 9 days after Lady Jane Grey- and it was convenient that she was already at the Tower of London- she was moved from the Royal chambers to the notorious prison where she was eventually killed, as her living- while some Protestants called her queen wasn’t good for stability. Had Lady Jane Grey stayed queen, no Mary, which means no Elizabeth, which means likely no House of Stuart, and a vastly different history. Today we remember Lady Jane Grey on the first of her official 9 days- the 10th of July in 1553.

The Last word for today comes from John 3:16 but continues through the 21st verse:

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 10th of July 2025 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who knows Lady Jane Grey is indeed, although distantly related to the Earl Grey and his bergamot and citrus black tea- He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man whenever he reads or hears theme Dudley thinks “Get the Tables” I’m Dan van Voorhis

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.