It’s 1553. Henry VIII’s long-awaited son, who became Edward VI, is only 15 and has been reduced to a nearly-bald, coughing, vomiting, bloated mass of ulcers.  (Tuberculosis is not pretty.) Who’ll take over when the sole male heir of the Tudor dynasty kicks the bucket? It gets complicated, so let’s have a look at the family tree, moving up a bit to Henry VII.

Henry VII, who swept in from Wales and won the crown from Richard III back in 1485 (thus starting the famous Tudor dynasty), had four children. From oldest to youngest, they were:

1) Arthur — He’d been married to Catherine of Aragon for a short time and died before they could have any children. She moved on to the next son in line…

2) Henry VIII — He changed England’s history forever by breaking with Rome all to try to have a son … and that kid was now on his deathbed. Looks like those daughters might finally come in handy. Elizabeth, a Protestant, had been declared illegitimate when his marriage to that temptress Anne Boleyn was conveniently wiped off the books so that he could marry wife #3, Jane Seymour (sickly Edward’s mom). Who’s left? Mary, a Catholic. Not ideal, but let’s see what the other choices are …

3) Margaret – She’d been sent up to Scotland to marry James IV. Their granddaughter is Mary, Queen of Scots. She’s a Catholic, and not a direct threat right now since Henry VIII’s Catholic daughter Mary is closer in the line of succession. (But she will be important when (a) Elizabeth becomes queen and has to insure she has no other threats to her crown, and (b) after Elizabeth dies with no heirs. That’s some time away, though.)

4) Mary — She married Charles Brandon and had a daughter, Frances, who married a Mr. Henry Grey. Together they had a little girl named Jane.

That’s where Lady Jane Grey comes in: She’s the only legitimate Protestant in the line of succession, the great-granddaughter of Henry VII.