Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey) - how was their relationship as cousins?

Question

Lady Jane Grey was 4 years younger than Elizabeth; they both lived for a while under the guardianship of Katherine Parr and Thomas Seymour.

How was their relationship as cousins? Was a friendly relationship or not? Were they fond of each other?

I read different books about them, some of them place Lady Jane as the best educated of her generation, and others place Elizabeth I as such. Do you know which statement is true?

So far I read almost nothing about their relationship of their early lives.

I only know that during her reign, Queen Elizabeth I declared Queen Jane a martyr her faith.

Do have any other information?

Answer 1

They were very close up until the point that Jane Grey turned Elizabeth in to Katherine for improper conduct with Thomas Seymour. After that, I believe that they still respected each other, but their closeness was reduced considerably. However, Jane Grey was executed at a very young age, and therefore none of the tensions between them really had time to play out.

Answer 2

whos queen elizabeth ? and queen jane

how come i dont know about them

i watch mtv all the time

Answer 3

I think you're right in saying that there was a gulf at their ages at the time they were together.

From what I've read, Elizabeth was a proud princess at the brink of womanhood, and wouldn't have become intimate with a younger girl, even though Jane had royal lineage.  This paragraph seems, in my view, to sum it up:

" There is no evidence she was ever particularly close to Elizabeth; the gulf between nine and thirteen is great.  Though they lived in the same homes for over a year, there are no surviving letters or reminisces.  Perhaps Jane was grateful for Elizabeth's departure; the princess was described as proud and disdainful, not good company for a shy child."

http://englishhistory.net/tudor/relative...

You will know that Mary, Elizabeth's half-sister, once sent Jane a fine dress, but Jane was not impressed as a sober, Protestant girl.

Alison Weir, the historian, wrote a novel about Jane, "Innocent Traitor" and, as such, is probably well-qualified to speculate what might have happened.

Answer 4

I would imagine that they got along well when they saw each other.  Elizabeth was in a different class so I doubt they spent much time together, but since they were both strict Protestants their causes to remove the "papists" from power were well aligned.

Answer 5

From what I've read,they were quite wary of each other.They were not enemies.Elizabeth knew a little more about cut-throat politics than her younger,naive cousin.She probably knew that Jane was being used for political posturing and knew that things would not turn out well for her.I'd say that both ladies were well-educated,but Elizabeth was more political-leader material.

Answer 6

Clarification: The book to which someone referred is "Young Bess" by Margaret Irwin. It was later made into a movie of the same title (1953). However, it is a historical novel and should not be considered accurate history.

As for the relationship between Elizabeth and Jane, they did indeed share the guardianship of Catharine Parr and Thomas Seymour and were on friendly terms. In regards to education, Elizabeth, although declared illegitimate, was King Henry VIII's daughter and therefore given an education fit for a princess. I believe Jane would be more what we call "well-read."

All of the answers to this question were astounding! The Tudor Dynasty happens to be one of my interests.

Answer 7

From what I've read and found in research, they were fairly friendly, and that lady Jane was used as a pawn against her will - she never truly wished to be queen.

As for education, they had the same tutors and both were more interested in books than politics during their young years.

I know Elizabeth mourned Jane's execution while seeing it as a necessity.

There is a book out there called Young Beth -it is a book from the 1950s and may be hard to find - that went into the details of her young life - before and after her father died.  I'm sorry, but I don't know the author.

Here's a good site - lists primary and secondary sources - http://www.englishhistory.net/tudor/mona...

here's some sparse details - stuff you likely already know - http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/eliz...

Answer 8

Jane Grey was the grandniece of Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I's cousin.  During the time they were growing up, there was some level of political instability because Edward, Henry VIII's son was king, and operated under a Protestant government.  The "fashion" at the time these women were growing up was to give them the very best of the Humanist education which was advocated by Erasmus, Dean Colet  and Thomas More.  So, my opinion based on research, as far as being educated, I would say that Elizabeth had more of the scholar's mind, although Jane was very well educated.  I don't know much about their relationship.  

I've included a website for you to check out.  I also have read several books by Alison Weir, who has done biographies on Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and Mary, Queen of Scots, among others.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Grey

Answer 9

I think Jane is generally reckoned to have been more of a scholar than Elizabeth, though Elizabeth was extremely clever.

How well they got on I don't think anyone knows.  They did both live under the guardianship of the Seymours for a short time, but I don't think much evidence exists as to what relations were like between them.  I can imagine though that Elizabeth would not have been best pleased when her brother Edward made a will naming Jane as his heir and excluding Elizabeth from the succession.

Since Elizabeth was such an extrovert and jane such an introvert, it seems unlikely that they would have been particularly close to each other, but they did share intellectual interests so they may have got on well enough.

Answer 10

Sam

The book"Young Bess"by Margaret Irwin is a very well-founded novel, Ms Irwin wrote a number of books about the 16th and 17th century from which the characters emerge as real people. If you can get an old copy, do so, the movie is trash - as I remember, the young Deborah kerr played Elizabeth.

If you like well-founded fiction, certainly Alison Weir has written some, but I find Philippa Gregory better-informed! She wrote "The other Boleyn Girl" also recently filmed and an entertaining story on film but highly inaccurate! The book is much better. Other books she's written which refer to Elizabeth and in passing, Jane, are "The Queen's Fool"about an attendant to Mary, Elizabeth's sister, and "The Virgin's Lover" about Elizabeth - for whom she does NOT have an unmixed admiration.

Enjoy.

LBS