In 1833, French artist Paul Delaroche painted “The Execution of Lady Jane Grey.” Photo credits to Sarah Slutsky Tooley and vee. (dcurachel) on Instagram of Rachel Zegler at the Met Gala (2026).
Lady Jane Grey (October of 1537 - 12th February 1554) was forced to marry Lord Guildford Dudley. She didn’t want to be a queen, but was forced into the position. She only ruled for a total of 9 days. Her father Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk (1517–1554) lead a failed uprising against Queen Mary I (the Wyatt's Rebellion in 1554). She was eventually imprisoned in the Tower of London by Queen Mary. Lady Jane Grey was given a chance to live, if she converted to Catholicism. She was a devout Protestant and refused. Her death sentence was because of treason.
Due to her father’s failed rebellion and her refusal to convert to another religion, she was to be beheaded for the crime of treason. Lady Jane Grey was only a teenager when she was killed. On the 12th of February, 1554, Lady Jane Grey was beheaded at Tower Green,
The painting juxtaposes the innocence of a teenager against the grim-harsh reality. It was a tragedy. What the painting doesn’t depict was Lady Jane Grey’s inner strength. When she was in the tower, Lady Jane wrote and published letters about the Protestant faith and criticisms of Queen Marry. Lady Jane probably knew she would not survive. Unlike the painting’s depiction, she wore a black dress to her execution, Lady Jane shed no tears before her beheading. The quote about the block came about after Delaroche’s famous painting. Lady Jane said, “I pray you dispatch me quick.”
Rachel Zegler (known for portraying Lucy Gray Baird in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) took inspiration from the painting. Depicting the innocence of a young women who was wronged. Ms. Zegler showcased not only Lady Jane’s innocence, but also her inner strength in this inspirational outfit and in her portrayal of Lucy Gray,
The second painting “The Last Moments of Lady Jane Grey,” was created by the Dutch artist Hendrik Jacobus Scholten (11th of July 1824 - 29th of May 1907).
Sources:
“Lady Jane Grey.” Historic Royal Palaces, www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/lady-jane-grey/.
Nichols, John Gough. The Chronicle of Queen Jane, and of Two Years of Queen Mary, and Especially of the Rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyat. 1850.
Phillips, Sabrina. “The Execution of Lady Jane Grey: Unveiling the Life of England’s Nine-Day Queen.” DailyArt Magazine, 18 Sept. 2024, www.dailyartmagazine.com/the-execution-of-lady-jane-grey-life-of-englands-nine-day-queen/.
“The Execution of Lady Jane Grey.” Nationalgallery.org.uk, 7 Nov. 2019, www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/paul-delaroche-the-execution-of-lady-jane-grey.
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Links:
Paul Delaroche, The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, 1833. Read about this painting, learn the key facts and zoom in to discover more.
Paul Delaroche’s Execution of Lady Jane Grey is a mesmerizing piece that captures the tragedy of one of England's most ill-fated queens.
Known as the ‘Nine Day Queen’, Lady Jane had the shortest reign in British history
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