On this date in 1554, Lady Jane Grey was taken from her lodgings in the Tower of London and executed on the orders of Queen Mary Tudor. Jane is known as the “Nine Days Queen”, because that is roughly how long she was on the throne before being deposed by Mary. Her death was a political one, since she was used as a figurehead for a faction attempting to keep Mary from the throne, and Mary’s marriage to the Spanish prince could not go ahead until Jane was put to death.
Alison Weir’s novel Innocent Traitor paints a portrait of Jane as an intelligent and devout young woman caught up in the scheming of others before paying the ultimate price.