Last words of the faithful
Lady Jane Grey
Died 12 February 1554 · beheaded at the Tower, aged about seventeen
Jane Grey was made queen of England at fifteen by men using her, reigned nine days, and was beheaded at the Tower of London on 12 February 1554. Foxe records her scaffold speech, her recitation of Psalm 51, and that after being blindfolded she groped for the block and asked what she should do and where it was, before commending her spirit into the hands of God.
The last words
The story behind them
She was about seventeen and she had not wanted any of it. Her father in law put the crown on her head, she wore it for nine days, and the men who had used her saved themselves. She did not. Her scaffold speech is short and contains no self pity and no blame: she said she had done an unlawful thing in accepting the crown, and that she washed her hands of it in innocence before God, and asked the people to witness that she died a good Christian woman looking to be saved by no other means than the mercy of God in the blood of his only Son.
She then said Psalm 51, in English, the whole of it. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness.
Blindfolded, she could not find the block, and nobody moved to help her.
Then they tied the blindfold, and she reached for the block and could not find it, and for a moment nobody on that platform moved. Foxe records what she said into that silence: what shall I do? Where is it? A bystander guided her hands. She laid her head down and said, Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit, which is Psalm 31 and the word of Christ from the cross, and which a great many of the people on this page said at the end without ever having agreed to.
What they died for, you can meet
None of these people died for an idea. They died holding onto a Person, convinced that death was not the end because he had already walked out of a tomb. The Living Bread is a quiet place to meet that same Jesus, read the Gospels for yourself, and ask your honest questions.
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Frequently asked questions
- What were Lady Jane Grey's last words?
- Foxe records that she laid her head on the block and said, 'Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit.' A moment earlier, blindfolded and unable to find the block, she had asked, 'What shall I do? Where is it?'
- How old was Lady Jane Grey when she died?
- About seventeen. She was made queen at fifteen or sixteen, reigned nine days, and was executed on 12 February 1554.
- What did she say on the scaffold?
- She admitted that accepting the crown had been unlawful, said she died a good Christian woman looking to be saved by no other means than the mercy of God in the blood of his Son, and recited Psalm 51 in English.
