Mary leads an army to London (Day 3)

On the third day of Lady Jane’s reign, Mary was leading an entire army bound for London, despite the fact that the Earl of Warwick and Lord Robert Dudley (the Duke of Northumberland’s sons) were heading her way to meet with her. Jane spent her evening organising forces in anticipations of Mary’s troops. Meanwhile, a letter was sent to Emperor Charles V (Mary’s first cousin) that Jane was now Queen and that Mary posed no threat to the throne.  She was nothing but a bastard who could not inherit the throne. The anxiety remained, Jane’s mother and mother-in-law had burst out in tears when Mary’s letter had arrived. Perhaps they already knew what was coming.

Life at the Tower of London followed a set pattern. Mornings and afternoons were filled with council meetings, with a two-hour interval for dinner at midday. Jane was not present for these meetings, but Guildford was. Jane was secluded in the state apartments. She joined the Lords for dinner with her gentlewomen and mother and mother-in-law. She retired immediately afterwards.