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14 | <Metadata name="Author">Marilee</Metadata>
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15 | <Metadata name="Title">Tudor Relatives - Lady Catherine Grey</Metadata>
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27 | <Content>
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28 |
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29 | <center><b><font color="#660000"><font size=+3>Lady Catherine Grey</font></font></b>
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30 | <br>born 1540, died 27 January 1568</center>
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31 |
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32 | <p>' I have sent you, good sister Catherine, a book, which although it
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33 | be not outwardly trimmed with gold, yet inwardly it is more worthy than
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34 | precious stones. It is the book, dear sister, of the laws of the lord:
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35 | It is His Testament and Last Will, which He bequeathed unto us wretches,
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36 | which shall lead you to the path of eternal joy, and if you, with a good
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37 | mind read it, and with an earnest desire, follow it, it shall bring you
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38 | to an immortal and everlasting life.&nbsp; It will teach you to live and
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39 | learn you to die.... It shall win you more than you should have gained
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40 | by the possession of your woeful father's lands, for as if God prospered
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41 | him, you shall inherit his lands.... [it holds] such riches as neither
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42 | the covetous shall withdraw from you, neither the thief shall steal, neither
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43 | let the moth corrupt.... And as touching my death, rejoice as I do and
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44 | consider that I shall be delivered of this corruption and put on incorruption,
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45 | for as I am assured that I shall for losing of a mortal life, find an immortal
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46 | felicity. Pray God grant you and send you his grace to live in the love...
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47 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Farewell good sister, put only your trust in God,
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48 | who only must uphold you,
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49 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Your loving sister, Jane Duddley'
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50 | <center><i><font size=-1>letter from Lady Jane Grey to her sister Catherine,
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51 | 1554</font></i></center>
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52 |
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53 | <p><br>
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54 | <br>
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55 | <p>'....when I call to mind what a husband I have of you, and my great
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56 | hard fate to miss the viewing of so good a one....&nbsp; Thus most humbly
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57 | thanking you, my sweet lord, for your sending to see how I do.... I most
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58 | lovingly bid you farewell....'
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59 | <center><i><font size=-1>letter of Catherine Grey to Edward Seymour, 1562</font></i></center>
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60 |
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61 | <hr width="100%">
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62 | <blockquote>Lady Jane Grey, the unfortunate queen of England for just nine
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63 | days, wrote the above letter to her younger sister Catherine before her
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64 | execution.&nbsp; It was the last communication between the seventeen-year-old
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65 | Jane and fourteen-year-old Catherine.&nbsp; Married to men of their parents'
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66 | choosing in a double ceremony the year before, they both suffered when
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67 | Jane was deposed and Princess Mary Tudor (named for their grandmother)
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68 | became queen.
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69 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (The tragedy of Jane's life, and the complexities
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70 | of the plot to make her queen of England, is discussed in much greater
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71 | detail in the following sections:&nbsp; <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html">Lady
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72 | Jane Grey</a> and <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fedward6.html">Edward
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73 | VI</a>.)&nbsp; Catherine's reaction to the sudden disgrace of her family,
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74 | the ruin of all their hopes and dreams, is not recorded.&nbsp; However,
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75 | it is safe to assume she was devastated.&nbsp; She was just fourteen and
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76 | watched her entire world turn upside down.&nbsp; The Greys had long been
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77 | the noblest family in the realm of England, united by ties of friendship
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78 | and blood to the Tudor monarchs.&nbsp; Catherine's grandmother was Henry
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79 | VIII's youngest sister, <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fcitizens%2fbrandon.html">Princess
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80 | Mary</a>; her grandfather was his best friend, Charles Brandon, duke of
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81 | Suffolk.&nbsp; The bonds of blood and friendship had allowed the Brandons
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82 | to rise to wealth and prominence.&nbsp; But they were dangerous bonds as
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83 | well; for after Edward VI's death, the Tudor succession was once more an
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84 | urgent question and anyone with royal blood was a target - for various
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85 | plots of dissatisfied citizens, for international speculation, for aristocratic
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86 | mobility, etc.
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87 | <br>(*note - The Brandons became the Greys when Frances Brandon (Charles
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88 | &amp; Mary's eldest daughter) married Henry Grey.)
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89 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Poor Catherine, despite Jane's fervent prayers, was
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90 | not to lead a life of 'grace.'&nbsp; She lacked Jane's intellect and religious
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91 | fervor; taken together, those qualities may have guided her impulsive nature
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92 | and provided solace in her troubled world.&nbsp; Instead, she was - and
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93 | always remained - an ordinary girl condemned to unhappiness because of
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94 | her Tudor blood.&nbsp; Her sister, brother-in-law, and father were executed
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95 | due to her father's stupidity and ingratitude.&nbsp; Mary I was often naive
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96 | and kind-hearted; she lacked the ruthlessness of her father (Henry VIII's
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97 | conscience rarely troubled him - despite the many executions he ordered.)&nbsp;
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98 | His daughter did not care to kill innocents - especially those she believed
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99 | to be the pawns of more greedy souls. Upon her accession, Jane Grey and
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100 | her husband Guildford Dudley were imprisoned in the Tower; but they were
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101 | not executed. It was only when Jane's father, Henry Grey, duke of Suffolk,
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102 | tried to raise a revolt - capitalizing on anger at the queen's impending
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103 | Spanish marriage - that Mary realized Jane must die.&nbsp; Henry Grey did
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104 | not try to restore his daughter to the throne
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105 | <br>(despite the assertion of many history books.)&nbsp; But that didn't
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106 | matter - Jane had been proclaimed queen once before and Mary recognized
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107 | the danger.&nbsp; Furthermore, Grey's actions followed upon the Wyatt rebellion,
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108 | one of the most serious rebellions of the Tudor era.&nbsp; Mary was conscientious
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109 | and attached to her legitimate family.&nbsp; But she ordered Jane, Guildford,
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110 | and Henry Grey executed.
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111 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But the queen did not forget the remaining Grey family.&nbsp;
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112 | Henry's wife was Frances Brandon, the eldest daughter of Mary's aunt, Princess
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113 | Mary Tudor.&nbsp; Queen Mary remembered her aunt's kindness to the beleaguered
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114 | Katharine of Aragon; she also wanted to put the past behind her - she was
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115 | marrying Philip of Spain, thus fulfilling her heart's two great desires.&nbsp;
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116 | Mary I wanted a family and to restore the Catholic faith to England.&nbsp;
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117 | On her way to achieve both, she was inclined to be generous.&nbsp; She
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118 | allowed Frances and her two remaining children, Catherine and Mary (11
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119 | years old) to remain at court.&nbsp; They attended her wedding on 25 July
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120 | 1554 to Philip at Winchester Cathedral.&nbsp; Catherine and Mary were appointed
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121 | maids of honor; the queen was careful to show them special kindness, singling
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122 | them out for favor.&nbsp; Even when their mother's second marriage, they
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123 | were still afforded every privilege.&nbsp;&nbsp; Frances Grey had waited
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124 | just three weeks after her husband's execution to marry her steward, Adrian
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125 | Stokes, a young man fifteen years her junior.&nbsp; Queen Mary did not
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126 | protest; perhaps she was happy her cousin was putting the past to rest.
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127 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At any rate, Frances Grey's second marriage fared
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128 | much better than Catherine's first one.&nbsp; She had been married on 21
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129 | or 25 Mary 1553 to the earl of Pembroke's heir; it had been a double ceremony
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130 | - her sister Jane was also wed to the dukke of Northumberland's son Guildford.&nbsp;
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131 | But when Mary I was proclaimed queen in July, Pembroke was eager to distance
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132 | himself from the Greys.&nbsp; He banished Catherine from his home and had
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133 | the marriage annulled.&nbsp; It was cruel of Pembroke but politically necessary.&nbsp;
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134 | After all, he had no idea how Mary would react to the Grey-Northumberland
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135 | treachery.&nbsp; Meanwhile, Catherine remained at court, openly favored
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136 | by the queen but despondent.&nbsp; There was occasional domestic and international
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137 | speculation about her future once it became clear Mary would provide no
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138 | heir.&nbsp; When discussing Princess Elizabeth's future, most stressed
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139 | the need to either support or destroy her two main rivals - Catherine Grey
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140 | and Mary queen of Scots.&nbsp; In other words, if Elizabeth's rule was
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141 | to be secure, she needed to deal with both Catherine and Mary.&nbsp; Mary
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142 | of Scotland was a problem that could be faced later (she was off in France
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143 | for now) but Catherine Grey was close and a dangerous rallying point for
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144 | dissatisfied Englishmen.
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145 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Before Elizabeth became queen, however, Catherine
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146 | did achieve some measure of personal happiness.&nbsp; After a period of
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147 | depression, she became friends with Lady Jane Seymour, daughter of the
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148 | late Lord Protector Edward Seymour, earl of Hertford and duke of Somerset.&nbsp;
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149 | (She was named for her aunt, Henry VIII's third queen and mother of his
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150 | son.)&nbsp; Jane was also a maid of honor and suffered from poor health
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151 | (already battling the consumption which killed her.)&nbsp; Queen Mary encouraged
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152 | the two girls to become friends, allowing Catherine to accompany Jane on
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153 | her frequent visits home.&nbsp; The Seymour family's main home was currently
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154 | Hanworth, Catherine Parr's manor which had passed to her husband Thomas
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155 | Seymour, then to his brother, and then to his brother's wife.&nbsp; The
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156 | widowed duchess of Somerset lived there with her second husband (like Frances
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157 | Grey, she had married her steward) and her oldest son, Edward.&nbsp; Edward
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158 | was in his late teens, just a few years older than Catherine, and already
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159 | tall, dark-haired and good-looking.&nbsp; Naturally enough, the two young
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160 | people became attached to one another.
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161 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Both Edward and Catherine had suffered public humiliation.&nbsp;
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162 | She had been repudiated by the Pembroke family and her sister and father
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163 | were executed as traitors; his father, too, had been executed as a traitor
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164 | and the Seymour wealth had yet to be restored.&nbsp; Also, their family
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165 | title remained in abeyance.&nbsp; Edward, who should have been titled earl
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166 | of Hertford, waited for his title to be officially reinstated.&nbsp; Beyond
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167 | these painful personal experiences, they were also lonely.&nbsp; Both were
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168 | past the age for betrothal but still unattached.&nbsp; And, equally important,
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169 | both were physically attractive.&nbsp; Catherine was the beauty of the
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170 | Grey family; small like Jane, she had the Tudor red-gold hair and a fair
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171 | complexion.&nbsp; Their attraction was physical and emotional; it was also
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172 | obvious.&nbsp; Before long, the duchess of Somerset was asking her son
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173 | about his intentions.&nbsp; He replied that he enjoyed visiting with Catherine;
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174 | his mother should not worry about the queen's feelings, he said, because
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175 | Catherine had been sent by Mary to live at Hanworth - so 'her majesty's
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176 | feelings in this matter cannot be doubted.'&nbsp; Whatever Mary's feelings,
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177 | they did not soon matter.&nbsp; In November 1558, she died and Elizabeth
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178 | Tudor, unlike her half-sister in so many ways, became queen of England.
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179 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When it came time for the successor to be crowned,
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180 | there was no dispute.&nbsp; After all, Elizabeth was Henry VIII's daughter
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181 | and her only rivals were other women.&nbsp; The Archbishop of York announced
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182 | her succession as 'true, lawful and right.'&nbsp; But Elizabeth took no
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183 | chances.&nbsp; Upon Mary I's death, Mary queen of Scots's French father-in-law
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184 | had her proclaimed queen of England.&nbsp; Mary and her husband, the dauphin
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185 | Francois, quartered the English royal arms with those of France; in official
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186 | documents Mary was titled Queen of England and Scotland.&nbsp; In the eyes
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187 | of Catholic Europe, such action was completely legal.&nbsp; Mary was queen
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188 | of England, by right of legitimacy and primogeniture.&nbsp; No one expected
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189 | Henri II to actually invade England and place her on the throne - but he
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190 | continued the diplomatic snubs, angering and irritating the English.&nbsp;
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191 | For example, when the English pressed for the restoration of Calais, the
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192 | French answered - restore to whom?&nbsp; Wasn't the queen of Scots also
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193 | the queen of England?&nbsp; Naturally enough, a group of parliamentary
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194 | ministers met with Elizabeth to petition her to marry.&nbsp; This was the
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195 | only way to secure her throne.&nbsp; Once she provided England with an
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196 | heir, everything would be fine.&nbsp; It was the familiar refrain of Tudor
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197 | England.&nbsp; Perhaps no other government has been so dominated by one
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198 | biological occurrence.
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199 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Elizabeth had no intention of marrying or providing
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200 | children; she was married to the nation, she told her ministers, and took
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201 | the seal of office from her finger.&nbsp; This, she said, was her wedding
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202 | ring, to be worn until death.&nbsp; The ministers had to be content but
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203 | they were not silenced.&nbsp; They would battle over this issue for years
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204 | to come.&nbsp; Meanwhile, Elizabeth's refusal to marry made Catherine Grey's
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205 | position all the more dangerous.
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206 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Catherine did not like the new queen.&nbsp; This
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207 | had its root in their tangled family history.&nbsp; Princess Mary Tudor
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208 | and Katharine of Aragon had been friends, each despising the interloper
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209 | (and Elizabeth's mother), Anne Boleyn.&nbsp; Their children, Frances Grey
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210 | and Mary I, continued the friendship - and openly despised Anne's daughter
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211 | Elizabeth.&nbsp; Mary I had been kind to Catherine; furthermore, Catherine
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212 | was brought up to believe Elizabeth was the illegitimate daughter of an
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213 | executed adulterer and traitor.&nbsp; And whatever Henry Grey's activities,
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214 | his daughter Catherine was legitimate.&nbsp; Like Mary I, the Greys were
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215 | very conscious of their family history, and naturally proud.&nbsp; Under
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216 | Mary's reign, they had been encouraged to move beyond their 1553 disgrace.&nbsp;
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217 | Now, however, they were ruled by an equally proud and disdainful queen.&nbsp;
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218 | Elizabeth disliked her Grey cousins as much as they disliked - and feared
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219 | - her.&nbsp; They also resented having too bow and scrape for her favor.
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220 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And it soon became clear they would have to bow and
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221 | scrape - and probably to no avail.&nbsp; Elizabeth allowed Catherine and
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222 | her sister to reside at court but no longer as maids of honor; they were
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223 | 'ladies of the presence'.&nbsp; Mary had allowed them access to the privy
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224 | chamber, that most private area; Elizabeth did not.&nbsp; Furthermore,
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225 | international ambassadors began to question Elizabeth about her cousin.&nbsp;
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226 | It was rumored that the Spanish wanted to marry Catherine to one of their
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227 | royal noblemen; after all, the king of France had a pawn in Mary queen
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228 | of Scots.&nbsp; The Spanish naturally wanted Catherine as their pawn.&nbsp;
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229 | It was known that Catherine was unhappy at court (so the Spanish ambassador,
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230 | Count Feria, reported to his master) and might be persuaded to leave England.&nbsp;
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231 | If not, they could always kidnap her.&nbsp; Elizabeth reacted by becoming
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232 | quite amiable with Catherine, calling her 'daughter' and restoring her
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233 | to the privy chamber.&nbsp; She even mentioned formally adopting Catherine.&nbsp;
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234 | Poor Catherine was probably more frightened by this sudden friendliness
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235 | than she was of Elizabeth's coldness.
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236 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Catherine had made the mistake of speaking insolently
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237 | about Elizabeth in mid-1559.&nbsp; The duke of Saxony's envoy reported
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238 | that Catherine had said 'very arrogant and unseemly words in the hearing
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239 | of the Queen and others standing by.'&nbsp; Her exact words were not recorded.&nbsp;
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240 | Still, what mattered is that she had been rude to Elizabeth I, a proud
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241 | woman inclined to make others regret their pride.&nbsp; Since Elizabeth's
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242 | immediate reaction had been to begin favoring her, Catherine had good cause
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243 | to worry.
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244 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During this period, Catherine had sought personal
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245 | solace with Edward Seymour.&nbsp; His title had been reinstated by the
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246 | queen and his optimism grew.&nbsp; As early as March 1559, he had asked
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247 | the duchess of Suffolk for Catherine's hand in marriage.&nbsp; Frances
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248 | Grey agreed but counseled the young couple to be careful.&nbsp; Edward
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249 | should seek out members of the Privy Council who would be sympathetic to
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250 | their suit; Frances herself would write to Elizabeth, asking for 'her majesty's
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251 | favor and good will.' (Of course, as all this was going on, Elizabeth was
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252 | receiving word of the Spanish plan to kidnap Catherine.)&nbsp; Frances
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253 | Grey became ill and died before the letter was sent off.&nbsp; Edward seemed
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254 | to get cold feet (he was also meeting another young woman and deciding
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255 | whether to risk his newly-gained title); he told Frances's widower that
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256 | he would let matters rest.&nbsp; So Catherine was left at court, serving
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257 | the unpredictable Elizabeth, and wondering when her betrothed would come
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258 | for her.
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259 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The relationship may have died that natural death
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260 | had not Lady Jane Seymour become involved.&nbsp; She was now in the later
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261 | stages of tuberculosis and determined to secure her brother's future before
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262 | she died.&nbsp; She loved him and wanted him to make this royal marriage,
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263 | perhaps his path to wealth and greater prominence.&nbsp; She brought her
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264 | friend and brother together again, encouraging a reconciliation; perhaps
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265 | she first suggested a secret marriage.&nbsp; Whatever the case, sometime
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266 | in October 1560, Catherine and Edward solemnly declared their intention
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267 | to marry.&nbsp; They agreed the wedding should take place when the queen
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268 | was next absent; Jane would hire a clergyman and Edward would buy the ring.&nbsp;
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269 | He had one made specially for the occasion, a posy ring (a plain gold band
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270 | with a concealed spring opening five links); on those links, he had inscribed
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271 | a verse of his own making:
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272 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
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273 | As circles five by art compact show but one ring
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274 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
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275 | in sight,
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276 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
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277 | So trust uniteth faithful minds with knot of
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278 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
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279 | secret might,
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280 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
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281 | Whose force to break (but greedy Death) no wight
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282 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
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283 | possesseth power,
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284 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
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285 | As time and sequels well shall prove; my ring can
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286 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
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287 | say no more.
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288 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This course of action doomed them both.&nbsp; In
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289 | 1515, Catherine's grandparents had been secretly wed, but they were able
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290 | to soothe their mercurial monarch.&nbsp; Catherine and Edward would be
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291 | far less successful.&nbsp; Sometime in early December, Elizabeth decided
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292 | to go to Eltham and hunt.&nbsp; Catherine had a toothache and Jane was
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293 | sick (as always), the queen was told.&nbsp; They would stay behind.&nbsp;
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294 | Elizabeth left in early morning and, by 8 o'clock, Catherine and Jane had
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295 | slipped out of Whitehall Palace and rushed to Edward's lodgings on Cannon
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296 | Row.&nbsp; The minister was late; Jane went to fetch him and, within the
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297 | hour, the couple were married.&nbsp; The groom was openly impatient so
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298 | his sister withdrew.&nbsp; Then the couple consummated their union; they
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299 | did so quickly since both Catherine and Jane needed to return to duties
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300 | at Whitehall.&nbsp; After about ninety minutes of togetherness, it was
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301 | time to hurry back into their complicated clothing.&nbsp; This alone took
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302 | a quarter of an hour.&nbsp; Edward then escorted Catherine and Jane as
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303 | far as he dared, kissed her and bade her farewell.
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304 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Their immediate circumstances did not change.&nbsp;
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305 | They did not tell the queen or anyone of the marriage.&nbsp; Instead, they
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306 | continued their secret meetings, sleeping together several times in the
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307 | palaces of Westminster and Greenwich.&nbsp; They never spent an entire
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308 | night together.&nbsp; Jane helped when she could; Catherine's maids probably
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309 | suspected marriage for they left the young lovers alone often.&nbsp; But
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310 | neither Edward or Catherine seemed to have a plan.&nbsp; How long did they
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311 | expect to carry on furtively?&nbsp; One cannot say.&nbsp; But Jane Seymour
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312 | died in March 1561; she vould arrange no more meetings for them.&nbsp;
|
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313 | One of Catherine's maids, frightened of her involvement, went on vacation
|
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314 | and never returned.&nbsp; Catherine received warnings from many prominent
|
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315 | people, including Secretary of State William Cecil, to 'beware of too great
|
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316 | familiarity' with Edward.&nbsp; She denied any involvement with him.&nbsp;
|
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317 | Elizabeth I had decided to send Edward abroad with Cecil's son Thomas,
|
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318 | as part of a European tour to finish their education.&nbsp; Catherine was
|
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319 | understandably beleaguered - and then, when it would cause the greatest
|
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320 | harm, she became pregnant.&nbsp; She had first suspected in early March;
|
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321 | both Edward and his dying sister agreed there was nothing to do but tell
|
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322 | Elizabeth and beg forgiveness.&nbsp; But Jane died and Catherine stalled.&nbsp;
|
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323 | She was perhaps uncertain of her pregnancy or perhaps simply too frightened
|
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324 | to face its consequences.&nbsp; Whatever the case, when Edward questioned
|
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325 | her, she said she didn't know for certain.&nbsp; In mid-April, he left
|
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326 | on the European trip.&nbsp; He promised Catherine he would return immediately
|
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327 | if and when she could determine her condition.&nbsp; He also left a letter,
|
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328 | signed and officially sealed, which gave her all his lands and possessions
|
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329 | if he should die overseas.
|
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330 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By mid-July, Catherine could no longer hide her condition.&nbsp;
|
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331 | She wrote to Edward, begging him to return home but the letters were delayed
|
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332 | and opened by a government informer who acted as courier.&nbsp; She was
|
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333 | forced to accompany Elizabeth on the annual summer progress.&nbsp; In Ipswich,
|
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334 | she finally broke down and confessed all.&nbsp; First, she spoke to the
|
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335 | Countess of Shrewsbury, who berated her and asked her to leave.&nbsp; Next,
|
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336 | the increasingly distraught Catherine went to Robert Dudley, son of the
|
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337 | executed duke of Northumberland and brother to Jane Grey's husband Guildford.&nbsp;
|
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338 | He had become Elizabeth I's favorite and Catherine hoped he would intercede
|
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339 | on her behalf with the queen.&nbsp; Dudley listened to her story, promised
|
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340 | nothing, and - the next morning - told everything to the queen.
|
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341 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A few days later, Secretary Cecil wrote to the earl
|
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342 | of Sussex this summation of events:
|
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343 | <blockquote><font size=-1>'The Lady Catherine is certainly known to be
|
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344 | big with child, as she saith by the Earl of Hertford, who is in France.&nbsp;
|
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345 | She is committed to the Tower.&nbsp; He is sent for.&nbsp; She saith that
|
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346 | she was married to him secretly before Christmas last.&nbsp; Thus is God
|
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347 | displeased with us.'</font></blockquote>
|
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348 | What Cecil did not mention is that Elizabeth was in no mood to be sympathetic
|
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349 | to either Catherine or Edward.&nbsp; Barring her personal dislike of the
|
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350 | Greys, Elizabeth was in a furious tangle of emotions.&nbsp; She had recently
|
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351 | struggled with the idea of marrying Dudley, the greatest love of her life;
|
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352 | through the summer and autumn of 1560, she struggled to reconcile her royal
|
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353 | duties and her heart's desire.&nbsp; In the end, she decided not to marry.&nbsp;
|
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354 | But this personal struggle had affected her greatly - she was irritable
|
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355 | and would suffer no mention of marriage or children.
|
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356 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Not unnaturally, Elizabeth asked why Catherine should
|
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357 | be allowed to sneak about and marry without the queen's permission, solely
|
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358 | because she was in love?&nbsp; Catherine possessed Tudor blood as well,
|
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359 | she must be made to reconcile duty and passion, even as Elizabeth had done.&nbsp;
|
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360 | Instead, she had been insolent and ungrateful; her marriage was the last
|
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361 | straw for Elizabeth.&nbsp; As heir presumptive, Catherine had gone too
|
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362 | far; she had not only married without permission but she had wed a Seymour.&nbsp;
|
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363 | They were notorious for their political ambitions; Elizabeth had personal
|
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364 | experience of this with Thomas Seymour.&nbsp; She ordered Edward, home
|
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365 | from the Continent, to the Tower on 5 September.&nbsp; He and Catherine,
|
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366 | plus his brother Henry and numerous servants, were subjected to a litany
|
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367 | of embarrassing questions: which of them had entered the bridal bed first;
|
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368 | which had left the bed first; who had laid on which side?&nbsp; The investigation
|
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369 | was still continuing when, on 21 September, Catherine went into labor.&nbsp;
|
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370 | She delivered a healthy son, christened Edward four days later within the
|
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371 | Tower.&nbsp; Catherine and Edward continued to assert that no one, save
|
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372 | Jane Seymour, had aided their deception.&nbsp; Elizabeth was not entirely
|
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373 | convinced but Cecil, so perceptive, urged leniency.&nbsp; He understood
|
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374 | Elizabeth's personal feelings in the matter.
|
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375 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But soon it no longer mattered.&nbsp; Neither Catherine
|
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376 | or Edward could produce evidence of their marriage; they said it had happened,
|
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377 | but was it legal by constitutional and canonical standards?&nbsp; They
|
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378 | could not even produce the minister, summoned by Jane Seymour during that
|
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379 | early morning.&nbsp; It remained up to Elizabeth; would she believe them
|
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380 | or not?&nbsp; Elizabeth turned the entire matter over to the church and,
|
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381 | on 10 May 1562, the Archbishop of Canterbury ruled there had been no marriage
|
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382 | between Edward and Catherine.&nbsp; They were officially censured for having
|
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383 | committed fornication; there would be a fine and imprisonment, to be determined
|
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384 | by the Queen's mercy.
|
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385 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the autumn of 1562, Elizabeth became gravely ill
|
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386 | with smallpox, one of the scourges of that era.&nbsp; It was believed she
|
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387 | would die.&nbsp; The Council met to decide who would succeed to the throne
|
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388 | - not unnaturally, many (including Cecil)) supported Catherine Grey.&nbsp;
|
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389 | The crisis was averted when Elizabeth recovered but, once again, the English
|
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390 | people were up in arms over the succession.&nbsp; She was always suspicious
|
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391 | of such talk, remembering her days under Mary's rule, and once said, 'So
|
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392 | long as I live I shall be Queen of England, when I am dead they shall succeed
|
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393 | that have most right.'&nbsp; She never said more until she was on her deathbed
|
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394 | in 1603.
|
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395 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Soon enough, Catherine managed to complicate the
|
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396 | issue further - she became pregnant once again.&nbsp; The Lieutenant of
|
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397 | the Tower, Edward Warner, was a kind man and had allowed the couple to
|
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398 | spend time together - he left certain doors unlocked and paid no attention
|
---|
399 | to who passed through them.&nbsp; So in February 1563, Catherine gave birth
|
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400 | to their second son, Thomas; two Tower warders acted as godfathers.&nbsp;
|
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401 | The queen, who had been content to let them languish in the Tower indefinitely,
|
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402 | was further enraged.&nbsp; Edward was fined 15000 pds (later reduced to
|
---|
403 | 3000); he was also charged with the following crimes:&nbsp; deflowering
|
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404 | a royal virgin in the Queen's household, flouting his imprisonment by meeting
|
---|
405 | with her in the Tower, and engaging in more carnal relations.
|
---|
406 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; One must sympathize with Elizabeth I.&nbsp; Not only
|
---|
407 | had Catherine and Edward disdained and insulted the Crown by their earlier
|
---|
408 | offenses; that was awful enough.&nbsp; But now they had done it again -
|
---|
409 | no contrition, no realization of the enormity of their crime - just the
|
---|
410 | same stupid, disrespectful behavior.&nbsp; Elizabeth's patience, never
|
---|
411 | great, was at an end.&nbsp; Elizabeth was very intelligent and conscious
|
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412 | of her own position.&nbsp; She assumed Catherine must, at the very least,
|
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413 | understand her position as well.&nbsp; She could not be so foolish and
|
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414 | thoughtless as everyone argued in her defense; everyone knew that actions
|
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415 | have consequences - so must Catherine Grey.
|
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416 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Whether Catherine was a fool is a matter of speculation
|
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417 | - and personal sympathy.&nbsp; Certainly,, she had an awful sense of timing.&nbsp;
|
---|
418 | But she was soon to suffer worse than before.&nbsp; There was an outbreak
|
---|
419 | of plague in London and an exodus of everyone who could afford to leave.&nbsp;
|
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420 | Elizabeth seized the opportunity to teach her cousin a lesson.&nbsp; The
|
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421 | Seymour family was moved, Edward and little Edward sent under house arrest
|
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422 | to Hanworth (where his mother still lived); Catherine and baby Thomas went
|
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423 | to her uncle John Grey's home in Essex.&nbsp; Even though they were free
|
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424 | of the Tower, they were still to be treated as prisoners.&nbsp; Catherine
|
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425 | was perhaps finally repentant - she was, according to her uncle, 'a penitent
|
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426 | and sorrowful woman for the Queen's displeasure.'
|
---|
427 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; She was also increasingly ill.&nbsp; Her uncle, who
|
---|
428 | could not have been happy with his disgraced niece, wrote that 'I never
|
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429 | came to her, but I found her weeping or else saw by her face she had wept.'&nbsp;
|
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430 | 'She is so fraughted with phlegm by reason of thought, weeping and sitting
|
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431 | still that many times she is like to overcome therewith...'&nbsp; As for
|
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432 | Catherine, she wrote that she was in 'continual agony'; 'I never felt what
|
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433 | the want of my prince's favor was before now...'&nbsp; Elizabeth was unmoved.&nbsp;
|
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434 | When John Grey ventured to ask for financial assistance (he was, after
|
---|
435 | all, keeping a prisoner for the crown), Elizabeth simply ordered Edward
|
---|
436 | to pay.&nbsp; The young earl used to opportunity to plead his own case.&nbsp;
|
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437 | By now it was mid-1564; there had been pamphlets circulating attesting
|
---|
438 | to the legality of the Grey-Seymour union and the legitimacy of their sons.&nbsp;
|
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439 | The Protestant establishment was as eager to support this as the Catholics
|
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440 | were to support Mary of Scotland.&nbsp; Catherine, born and bred an Englishwoman
|
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441 | and already
|
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442 | <br>having born two healthy sons, was heir presumptive.&nbsp; So the same
|
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443 | talk continued.
|
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444 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The commotion eventually died down.&nbsp; But John
|
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445 | Grey died in autumn 1564; his niece was transferred to Ingatestone under
|
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446 | the custody of Sir William Petre.&nbsp; Elizabeth had begun to imply she
|
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447 | favored her Stewart relations over the Greys.&nbsp; One can hardly blame
|
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448 | her; at least Mary of Scotland was troublesome only to herself.&nbsp; Meanwhile,
|
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449 | Catherine's sister Mary had made a secret marriage of her own.&nbsp; Once
|
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450 | again, the Greys angered the queen.&nbsp; Mary and her husband were imprisoned.&nbsp;
|
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451 | Catherine was moved from Petre's home in February 1567.&nbsp; She entered
|
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452 | the custody of Sir John Wentworth of Gosfield Hall in Essex; in September,
|
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453 | she was moved for the last time, to Cockfield Hall.&nbsp; It was in Suffolkshire,
|
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454 | and remote from the intrigues of London.&nbsp; Her keeper was Sir Owen
|
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455 | Hopton and his task was an awful one.&nbsp; By this time, Catherine was
|
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456 | gravely ill with tuberculosis.&nbsp; Royal physicians were sent for but
|
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457 | they could do nothing.
|
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458 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By January 1568, Hopton wrote to Cecil that the end
|
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459 | was near.&nbsp; What did Catherine think, trapped in yet another prison,
|
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460 | knowing she would never see her husband again?&nbsp; She did not speak
|
---|
461 | of Edward; rather, she took comfort in prayer even as Jane had done fourteen
|
---|
462 | years before.&nbsp; On the 27th of January, Hopton's wife tried to raise
|
---|
463 | her spirits; Catherine replied, 'No, no, my lady, my time is come and it
|
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464 | is not God's will that I should live any longer, and his will be done,
|
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465 | not mine.&nbsp; As I am, so shall you be; behold the picture of yourselves.'&nbsp;
|
---|
466 | Around seven o'clock, she asked to see Hopton.&nbsp; She asked him to take
|
---|
467 | a message to the Queen; 'I must needs confess I have greatly offended her
|
---|
468 | in that I made my choice without her knowledge, otherwise I take God to
|
---|
469 | witness I had never the heart to think any evil against her majesty.'&nbsp;
|
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470 | She asked Elizabeth to be good to her sons, to not blame them for their
|
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471 | parents' crimes.&nbsp; She also asked her cousin to forgive Edward for
|
---|
472 | 'I know my death will be heavy news unto him.'&nbsp; She sent their wedding
|
---|
473 | ring back to him, as well as the few gifts she possessed.&nbsp; Among them
|
---|
474 | was a ring engraved with a death's head and a motto, 'While I live yours.'&nbsp;
|
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475 | This was 'the last token unto my lord that ever I shall send him; it is
|
---|
476 | the picture of myself.'&nbsp; And at nine o'clock, having made some small
|
---|
477 | peace with the world, Catherine Grey died.
|
---|
478 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; She had spent nearly seven years in various prisons
|
---|
479 | and was twenty-seven when she died.&nbsp; Edward, upon hearing the news,
|
---|
480 | was heartbroken.&nbsp; But he also hoped for release.&nbsp; Perhaps Catherine's
|
---|
481 | death would end the queen's anger.&nbsp; Two years later, he was rewarded;
|
---|
482 | he was released and pardoned.&nbsp; In 1586, he married again to one Frances
|
---|
483 | Howard.&nbsp; They had no children and Edward never stopped petitioning
|
---|
484 | the courts to legitimize his sons with Catherine.&nbsp; In 1606, three
|
---|
485 | years after Elizabeth's death, the clergyman was found - fifty years after
|
---|
486 | the fact! - and a common law court legitimized the marriage and their sons.
|
---|
487 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Edward eventually died in January 1621, both of his
|
---|
488 | sons already dead.&nbsp; But his grandson, William Seymour, had already
|
---|
489 | re-enacted Edward and Catherine's tragic love story by making a secret
|
---|
490 | marriage of his own to Arbella Stewart, a member of the royal family.&nbsp;
|
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491 | And Edward apparently didn't gain sympathy for young lovers through his
|
---|
492 | own experience.&nbsp; His and Catherine's eldest son, Edward, married Honora
|
---|
493 | Rogers, a girl far below his station; Edward did everything he could to
|
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494 | end the marriage and his son threatened to commit suicide rather than return
|
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495 | to Edward's home.
|
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496 | <br>&nbsp;</blockquote>
|
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497 |
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498 | <center><font size=-1><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative.html">to
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499 | Tudor Relatives</a></font>
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500 | <br><font size=-1><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor.html">to Tudor
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501 | England</a></font>
|
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502 | <br><font size=-1><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html">to
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503 | Lady Jane Grey page</a></font>
|
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504 | <br>&nbsp;
|
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505 | <p><font size=-1>written by <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Marilee</a></font></center>
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506 |
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507 |
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508 |
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509 | <!-- text below generated by server. PLEASE REMOVE --><!-- Counter/Statistics data collection code --><script language="JavaScript" src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fhostingprod.com%2fjs%5fsource%2fgeov2.js"></script><script language="javascript">geovisit();</script><noscript><img src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;el=direct&amp;href=http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1108082577" alt="setstats" border="0" width="1" height="1"></noscript>
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511 | </Content>
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512 | </Section>
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513 | </Archive>
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