28 August 2012

The beheading of Lady Jane Grey


She was only 16 or 17 years old, and had been de facto Queen of England for nine days.

Painting by Paul Delaroche (1833), via Rob's Webstek.

8 comments:

  1. That's how you might end if you enter big politics. At least she didn't suffer long.

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  2. There was a movie about her and Patrick Stewart played her dad.

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    1. The film is called Lady Jane, and it stars Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes (and Patrick Stewart!).

      Thanks for reminding me of the film, and Minnesostan, for reminding me of the beautiful Delaroche painting.

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  3. I can remember seeing this painting in London. I'm not an art critic, had no idea the talent in all the paintings I walked past, but this one... this one made me stop dead in my tracks. I'm a thirty year old construction worker and I stood in front of this thing for a half hour. When I left, I understood why people pay so much money for what I used to think was just a dead man's brush-strokes. This wasn't dead. It was so very, very alive. Thanks for posting.

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  4. I found an excellent article on the circumstances that lead to Lady Jane Grey's demise:

    http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/leanda-de-lisle/lady-jane-grey

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  5. Man, they were hard people in that time. Of course, they would probably think we're too soft.

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  6. It's great to be absolute monarch, and not so great to be a temporary consort of such. Plan an escape, hey?

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