England’s Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey

News

Tuesday, October 1 | 6:15 p.m. 
reception following lecture

Abigail Adams Smith House Auditorium,
417 East 61st Street, New York, NY

In July 1553, Tudor England plunged into political and military crisis. Henry VIII's young son, Edward VI, died at the age of just fifteen, leaving no male heir. For the first time, a woman would wear the English crown, but who: Edward's Catholic half-sister Mary, or his Protestant cousin Jane Grey? On his deathbed, Edward named sixteen-year-old Jane as his heir. As fierce a Protestant as Edward, Jane was proclaimed queen and taken to the Tower of London to await her coronation. But Mary would not accept her disinheritance - and neither would the country. Nine days later, Jane's brief reign was over, and seven months after that, she lost her head on the block. Author and Historian Helen Castor explores this dramatic story, examining key events, documents and characters, and assessing Jane's role in the coup that cost her life. The tragic tale of the Nine Days' Queen is a breathless political thriller as well as a defining moment in the history of England.

Dr. Helen Castor is a medieval and Tudor historian and a BBC broadcaster. She directed studies in History at Sidney Sussex College in the University for eight years before deciding to concentrate on writing for a wider audience. She is the author of Blood & Roses (2006), She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth (2011), and Joan of Arc: A History (2015), which was longlisted for the 2016 PEN America/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography. She has presented history programs for BBC radio and television, including documentaries based on her books and a well-received series on England's Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey. 

This talk takes place at the Abigail Adams Smith House
Auditorium, 417 East 61^st Street, NYC and NOT at the English-Speaking Union

 $30 RAF members; $40 non-members (ESU members may register at the RAF member rate).

 To register: Please call Kayla Smith at 212-480-2889, ext. 201 or visit www.royal-oak.org/events 

All Member and Co-sponsor discounts will be applied at check out. Enter this co-sponsor code - ESUNY19 - to receive the discounted the Royal Oak Foundation member rate.

No tickets will be issued. Your name will be on the guest list at the door. No refunds will be made once you have registered. Reservations for lectures are non-refundable.

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