Guildford Dudley Family Tree 1535-1554

Guildford Dudley Family Tree showing:
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Short Biography

Guildford Dudley was born in 1535 and was executed for treason on 12th February 1554. He was the son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and Jane Guildford. His father had become Protector of King Edward VI in 1551. In the summer of 1553, it became clear that Edward was dying and both Edward and Dudley were concerned for the succession. They were both staunch Protestants but next in line was Edward’s sister Mary a Catholic who vowed to restore England to the Catholic faith.

Dudley had married Guildford to Lady Jane Grey, daughter of Frances Brandon and Henry Grey. Frances was the daughter of Henry VIII’s younger sister Mary and had a claim to the throne. Edward signed the Devise for Succession which nominated Jane Grey as his successor. John Dudley believed that Jane would make his son King consort and he would continue to rule.  Jane was proclaimed Queen of England on 10th July 1553, four days after Edward’s death. Guildford and Jane were housed in the Tower of London to await their coronation. Jane told Northumberland that she would not agree to Guildford being King consort. However, there was no coronation as Jane did not have the support of the people.

On 19th July 1553 Mary Tudor was proclaimed Queen. Soon afterwards, Guildford and Lady Jane were found guilty of treason, but knowing they were innocent pawns, Mary did not sign their death warrants. In February 1554 Jane’s father, Henry Grey, joined Thomas Wyatt’s rebellion against Mary’s planned marriage to King Philip II of Spain. Their plan was to overthrow Mary and put Jane back on the throne, but it failed. Mary had no choice but to sign the death warrant. Jane Grey was executed by beheading privately within the walls of the Tower of London. 

Published Jul 2, 2020 @ 8:25 pm – Updated – Sep 21, 2022 @ 12:59 pm