Did Lady Jane Grey sweep in like her great-grandfather had and claim the throne for herself? Not at all. The adult who’d been steering young Edward, the Duke of Northumberland, convinced the gasping and sputtering teenaged boy to accept Jane as his heir, since Eddie clearly did not have much time left. Only then would the country remain Protestant. Young Ed was a fanatical Protestant so he was cool with this. Not that he had much energy left to argue.

The Duke of Northumberland then made sure that Jane married his own son, to keep his own nose in the royal family business, and planted Jane on the throne as soon as Eddie was no more. When the fifteen-year-old girl learned that she was queen, she felt “stupified and troubled,” in her own words, and fainted straightaway. She came to momentarily and realized that the others in the room had stood around like bumps on a log and didn’t even help her, and then she began to cry right there on the floor!

When she’d finally gotten herself together, she snapped to the others “The crown is not my right and pleaseth me not. The Lady Mary [Henry VIII's Catholic daughter] is the rightful heir.” Well, that settles that, right?

Not even close. Northumberland and her parents let her know that she was embarrassing her family and that she had a duty to them. She would have to live her life as they wanted her to, for her family and for the country, which they wanted to remain Protestant. She still didn’t love the idea, but she gathered herself together and took on her new role as professionally as could be expected.

For nine days, anyway. During that time, Mary showed up with a vengeance and planned to take the crown back for herself. Jane was imprisoned and, seven months later, found herself kneeling before the chopping block. Turned out she’d had her work cut out for her, after all.