Lord Guilford Dudley

Lord Guilford Dudley
Born	1536
Died	12 February 1554 Tower of London
Spouse(s)	Jane
Parents	John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland Jane Guilford

Lord Guilford Dudley (1536 - 12 February 1554) was the husband of Lady Jane Grey, whom some scholars consider a briefly reigning Queen of England. His first name is sometimes spelled "Guildford".

He was a son of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, and Jane Guildford. He was the younger brother of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. His lineage goes to Roland de Sutton, son of Harvey who inherited a knight's fee of Sutton as descendent of a Breton warrior-follower of Alain Le Roux, leader of the Breton army in the Harrying of the North ^[1].

His father became the leader of the Privy Council after the execution of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, who was Lord Protector during the reign of King Edward VI of England. On Edward's death, Northumberland feared the accession of the King's half-sister, the Catholic Lady Mary (future Mary I of England). The Duke of Northumberland had a new order of succession signed by young King Edward, so that Lady Jane Grey would be proclaimed Queen after the death of the King.

In order to prevent a restoration of Catholicism in England he married his son, Guilford, to Lady Jane on May 15, 1553 at Durham House.

Within days of King Edward's untimely death, Jane was hastily proclaimed Queen, and against her own better judgment officially ruled for nine (or thirteen) days. The Dudley and Grey families moved to have Guilford proclaimed King, but Jane would agree only to make him Duke of Clarence. After Jane lost the throne to Mary Tudor, Jane and Guilford were moved from the Royal apartments in the Tower of London to the Gentleman Gaoler's lodgings. Mary agreed to spare their lives, and for six months they lived in the Tower, with substantial freedom.

On November 14, 1553 Guilford and Jane were tried and convicted of treason at Guildhall.^[2] Specifically, the treason that Guilford was indicted and convicted of was that he compassed to depose Queen Mary from her crown and dignity in that he sent men to assist the Duke of Northumberland, that he declared Lady Jane as Queen and that he honored, received and proclaimed her as such.^[3]

However, after Thomas Wyatt's Rebellion of 1554, Mary saw Jane and Guilford as inspirations for potential future rebellions against her. After some hesitation, Mary signed the death warrant. Eleven days after the execution, Jane's father, the Duke of Suffolk, who had been actively involved in Wyatt's revolt, suffered the same fate.

Guilford was escorted by guards to Tower Hill, where he was publicly executed. His last words were "Pray for me!" and his head came off with one swing of the axe. Some later reports said that he cried at his execution, but contemporary reports state that he died bravely and dry-eyed.^[4] His body was carried to the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, in the grounds of the Tower of London. On seeing the body from her window, Jane is alleged to have cried, "Oh, Guilford, Guilford." He was buried in the chapel with Jane.

Guilford's brothers, John, Ambrose, Robert and Henry, along with their father, were also for a while incarcerated in the Tower, but were subsequently pardoned.

A cell wall in the Tower of London contains a carving of the word "IANE." (The letter "J" did not come into common use until the 18th century and was frequently signified by an "I" before this.) The carving is believed to have been done by Guildford while imprisoned, perhaps pining for his wife, or his mother (also called Jane).