Lady Jane Grey: How the Nine Day Queen lost her head, but found her face

English Heritage (EH) and Courtauld scientists believe they may have discovered the face of Lady Jane Grey, who famously ruled England for nine days in 1553 before she was beheaded, aged 17, at the behest of her cousin Mary Tudor, who deposed her.

‘This painting was part of the historic collection at Wrest Park, having been acquired by Anthony Grey, 11th Earl of Kent, in 1701, as an image of Lady Jane Grey. It remained the defining image of the Nine Days Queen for more than 300 years, until its attribution was thrown into doubt and its identity rejected,’ explains Peter Moore, curator at the Bedfordshire estate. When Wrest was sold in 1917, much of its collection, including this portrait — artist unknown — went to auction.

Nowadays, Paul Delaroche’s execution scene comes to mind when most people think of Lady Jane — at the block in white, helpless and blindfolded. However, this and all other known depictions of her were painted after her death — nearly 300 years later in Delaroche’s case.

New tree-ring dating to the Wrest painting has revealed that its oak panel dates to the Nine Days Queen’s lifetime and also bears a cargo mark identical to one used on a royal portrait of her predecessor, Edward VI, with dendrochronologist Ian Tyers confirming that if this portrait is Lady Jane, it would be the only one known to have been painted during her lifetime.

Meanwhile, XRF and infra-red reflectography show that the sitter’s clothing and headwear has been altered since the portrait was first painted, making it more plain, in black and white and with the addition of a scarf over her shoulders. ‘It is possible that we are looking at the shadows of a once more royal portrait of Lady Jane Grey, toned down into subdued, Protestant martyrdom after her death,’ confirms Rachel Turnbull, EH senior collections conservator. Slightly more aggressively, her eyes, mouth and ears have been deliberately scratched out — a common form of religious or politically motivated vandalism.

‘This is such an interesting picture posing so many questions and, if this is Jane Grey, [it is] a valuable addition to the portraiture of this young heroine, as a woman of character — a powerful challenge to the traditional representation of her as a blindfolded victim,’ adds author Dr Philippa Gregory.

The work is among seven paintings returning to Wrest Park (six on loan) and is now on display there for the foreseeable.