Elizabeth wanted to have as few potential heirs alive around her as possible. I am sympathetic and understand Elizabeth’s political reasons. Her betrothal ring, her wedding ring and a momento mori ring all attested to her great love of her husband and to the fact that she was indeed married. She gave him three rings to pass on to her beloved after her death. She called her keeper to her deathbed and professed her undying love for her husband. But she had no will to live separated from her husband and her eldest son. Her keeper despaired of her health and called for a doctor. She slowly descended into a deep depression and didn’t eat enough to keep herself alive. Katherine and her husband were separated along with their two sons and held in captivity. In the eyes of the law, if the bride and groom declared they were married, that was enough. But the commission could find no reason to contradict the word of the bride and groom. Elizabeth set up a commission to investigate the details with the express hope the marriage would be declared invalid. The validity of the marriage could only be substantiated on the testimony of the bride and groom. In the meantime the sister had died and the priest had disappeared. The marriage was soon exposed and the Queen was furious. The only witnesses were her husband’s sister and a mysterious priest who performed the rite. The wedding ceremony was performed essentially in secret.

Katherine Grey never sought permission to marry, probably with good reason.

I don’t think it would have mattered who the men were. While I admire Queen Elizabeth I very much, she was particularly hard on these women in not allowing them to follow their hearts. These poor women had the audacity to fall in love with men and marry. Many heirs suffered imprisonment or beheading. In Tudor times, being a potential successor to the monarch was hazardous to one’s health. The only difference was Katherine had two children while Arbella had none. Both women were imprisoned for their foolish behavior and both died probably of starvation in captivity. Both women married Seymour men without the permission of the Queen. Both women were potential heirs to Queen Elizabeth I. Arbella was a descendant of Margaret Tudor, eldest sister of King Henry VIII. What makes her story so sad? In many ways, her life mirrors that of her cousin Arbella Stuart who was born six years after Katherine’s death.

Katherine’s death at the age of twenty-seven was most unfortunate. She was the sister of Lady Jane Grey, the “Nine Days Queen” and a descendant of Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII. I have just read the most heartbreaking description of the death of Lady Katherine Grey.

Lady Cara's Humiliation by Kinsey Grey