England's Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

In this three-part series for BBC Four, historian Helen Castor pieces together the astonishing true story of Lady Jane Grey - the first reigning Queen of England.

We may think we know the history: an innocent teen thrust onto the throne and beheaded as a traitor after reigning for just nine days. But Helen discovers original documents that reveal a Tudor thriller - an epic story of dynastic rivalry, intrigue and betrayal. A young woman manipulated by older men who ends up losing her life as a result.

In July 1553, Tudor England is rocked by a constitutional crisis. Henry VIII's young son Edward dies with no male heir to inherit the throne. Having never had a reigning Queen, England now has two who claim the title. Two women prepared to fight for the throne - the 37 year-old Catholic Mary Tudor and the teenage Protestant Jane Grey.

Series details

• Title: England's Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey
• Format: Documentary
• Language: English
• Genres: History
• Premiere date: 2018-01-09
• Final broadcast date listed: 2018-01-11
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: BBC Four
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 33950
• IMDb ID: tt7812452
• TVDB ID: 340478

Cast and credited roles

• Helen Castor — Presenter

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2018-01-09; final listed air date 2018-01-11; episode order: 3.

Source and licence

Adapted from England's Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.