Lady Katherine Grey, a tragically short life

Lady Katherine Grey

Early life

A portrait of Katherine Grey

Katherine was born in the year 1540, we are not quite sure on the day or month, to Frances and Henry Grey. She was the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey and the elder sister of Mary grey. Frances was a bit disappointed she had three girls, nonetheless, she treated them equally well. Because of Frances's lineage, Katherine, Mary, and Jane were the great nieces of Henry VII. 

The tudor family tree

Katherine had an okay education, worse than her attentive sister. Katherine would soon get married at a noticeably young age.

Her first Husband and family tragedies.

In 1551, Katherine was married to Henry, Earl of Pembroke, the couple remained together for 3 years.

A portrait of Henry

 In 1554, Mary I came to the throne of England after deposing Jane due to tensions and an uprising and also because Edward VI insisted that Mary would not be queen this would be the last time Katherine would see her  Father, Sister and Brother-in-law alive, they were executed because of yet another rebellion against Mary I. 

The Famous Painting of the Execution of Lady Jane Grey

Katherine and Mary along with there relatives were imprisoned but never got indicted. Henry and Katherine split up sometime while Katherine was imprisoned.

Her single life as working for Mary's Court.

after Frances negotiated with Mary to let her and her surviving kids, Katherine, Mary and a couple more to go free, they worked in Mary I's court. 

A portrait of Mary I

Their job were ladies in waiting to Mary, basically like Mary's entourage of ladies. Frances got a marriage opportunity and took it, she died in 1559. it was said that during Mary's reign, Katherine was said having a pleasant life. Once Mary I died of cancer, the same disease that took her mother, Elizabeth inherited the throne because Mary ended up not having any kids surviving.

  Working in the court of Elizabeth I and the scandalous marriage to her second husband, Edward Seymour

A portrait of Queen Elizabeth I

Katherine also worked for Elizabeth despite the two of them not getting along together. sometime later, she falls in love with the nephew of Elizabeth's first stepmother, Edward Seymour, the two try their best to hide it from Elizabeth as it would be scandalous. After some time of Edward and Katherine falling in love, they get married behind their own queen’s back. Elizabeth finds out and is outraged at the marriage behind her back; she sends them both to the tower of London as they have committed treason. In the aftermath, Katherine becomes pregnant with her and Edward's son.

The combined portraits of Katherine Grey and Edward

Life inside the Tower of London

A photo of one of the buildings within the tower of London

Elizabeth puts Katherine and Edward under house arrest. Katherine's first kid is born and taken to the burial spot of her own sister is born to be Christianised. Katherine sometime later falls pregnant again after seeing Edward, This Elizabeth to panic as Katherine could take the crown. Edward and Katherine are separated, she is then sent to live in custody of her uncle, she sadly gets unwell, and ends up getting Tuberculosis, known as consumption, back in the day. She was taken away and moved to the countryside as the Black death pandemic hit central England.

Death

Katherine sadly enters the last stages of Tuberculosis and dies in custody in Oxford on January 22, 1568, at the young age of about 27, she is interred on February 21. Her story would not end there; Edward gets freed three years later and is allowed back at court and outlives Katherine by about 50 years. Katherine is re-interred with her husband in the Salisbury Cathedral along with the rest of the house of Seymour by her Grandson. 

Katherine's tomb

Legacies

A different image of Katherine Grey

Katherine became the eldest Lady Grey after Jane's untimely end. Salisbury Cathedral still exists to this day, meaning you can see her tomb. Katherine was the first of two Grey Sisters to cause a scandalous marriage. Assuming she died at the age of 27, she is the first member of the 27 club, a cursed club of famous people who died at age 27. The house that she married into, the Seymour’s, still exist.