Uploaded November 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Which TUDOR QUEEN does this portrait show? Is it Catherine Parr or Lady Jane Grey. Henry VIII’s sixth wife, or his great-niece? This painting now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London and is currently identified as Catherine, but for many years it was thought to be Lady Jane Dudley (to use her married name), the tragic nine-day Queen of England who was executed at the Tower of London at the age of 16 on the orders of Mary I. In this Tudor art history documentary from History Calling, we look at the story behind the painting. I’ll take you through the reasons for these two identifications and tell you what we know about its creation and the Tudor court painter behind it, Master John. We’ll then discuss the sitter’s clothing, the jewellery she is wearing and even the Persian carpet she is standing on. Particular attention will be paid to the crown-shaped broach she sports and its appearance in other portraits of Catherine Parr and one thought to be Jane Grey and also in jewellery inventories. Her pendant is important too and appears in another National Portrait Gallery image of Catherine, while her girdle may be traced to an inventory of Queen Katherine Howard’s belongings showing that the six wives of Henry VIII inherited each other’s possessions. I’ll walk you through the provenance of the picture and the stories attached to it by its previous owners regarding this lady’s identity and tell you how overpainting has changed it, so that we no longer see all the colours the artist originally intended.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
ROYAL WOMEN PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HnqxlXmoJ1C3iQK3bXNO_g
ART HISTORY PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Eh4LJzcqLO_ayueqJt8ao-
SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hb5Wjykc2hBrBddQYXDUqU
CATHERINE PARR: BEFORE SHE WAS QUEEN
youtu.be/y4fEIOohi48
CATHERINE PARR: THE QUEEN WHO SURVIVED HENRY VIII
youtu.be/yU0b0WgmGR8
CATHERINE PARR’S BURIAL & SHOCKING CORPSE MULTILATION
youtu.be/p6lPB4uzmwI
WHAT DID LADY JANE GREY LOOK LIKE?
youtu.be/66YkitHniAc
THE EXECUTION OF LADY JANE GREY
youtu.be/JirVfl8gsj8
TUDOR CONSORT NECKLACE
youtu.be/Yrs5FvcDlvs
GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
BUY OR RENT
Becoming Elizabeth (Starz, 2020). Available at amzn.to/3PkKz5m
[Includes the characters of Catherine Parr and Lady Jane Grey]
READ
Susan E. James, ‘Lady Jane Grey or Queen Kateryn Parr?’ in The Burlington Magazine, vol. 138, no. 114 (1996), pp 20-24. Can be accessed/purchased via JSTOR.
Eric Ives, Lady Jane Grey: a Tudor mystery (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011). Available at amzn.to/3EiF012
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/3atiEfi (UK link) OR amzn.to/36IqD5r (US link)
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004) amzn.to/3k9uD4Z (UK link) OR amzn.to/3wImKIh (US link)
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It does not affect the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Which TUDOR QUEEN does this portrait show? Is it Catherine Parr or Lady Jane Grey. Henry VIII’s sixth wife, or his great-niece? This painting now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London and is currently identified as Catherine, but for many years it was thought to be Lady Jane Dudley (to use her married name), the tragic nine-day Queen of England who was executed at the Tower of London at the age of 16 on the orders of Mary I. In this Tudor art history documentary from History Calling, we look at the story behind the painting. I’ll take you through the reasons for these two identifications and tell you what we know about its creation and the Tudor court painter behind it, Master John. We’ll then discuss the sitter’s clothing, the jewellery she is wearing and even the Persian carpet she is standing on. Particular attention will be paid to the crown-shaped broach she sports and its appearance in other portraits of Catherine Parr and one thought to be Jane Grey and also in jewellery inventories. Her pendant is important too and appears in another National Portrait Gallery image of Catherine, while her girdle may be traced to an inventory of Queen Katherine Howard’s belongings showing that the six wives of Henry VIII inherited each other’s possessions. I’ll walk you through the provenance of the picture and the stories attached to it by its previous owners regarding this lady’s identity and tell you how overpainting has changed it, so that we no longer see all the colours the artist originally intended.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
ROYAL WOMEN PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HnqxlXmoJ1C3iQK3bXNO_g
ART HISTORY PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Eh4LJzcqLO_ayueqJt8ao-
SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hb5Wjykc2hBrBddQYXDUqU
CATHERINE PARR: BEFORE SHE WAS QUEEN
youtu.be/y4fEIOohi48
CATHERINE PARR: THE QUEEN WHO SURVIVED HENRY VIII
youtu.be/yU0b0WgmGR8
CATHERINE PARR’S BURIAL & SHOCKING CORPSE MULTILATION
youtu.be/p6lPB4uzmwI
WHAT DID LADY JANE GREY LOOK LIKE?
youtu.be/66YkitHniAc
THE EXECUTION OF LADY JANE GREY
youtu.be/JirVfl8gsj8
TUDOR CONSORT NECKLACE
youtu.be/Yrs5FvcDlvs
GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
BUY OR RENT
Becoming Elizabeth (Starz, 2020). Available at amzn.to/3PkKz5m
[Includes the characters of Catherine Parr and Lady Jane Grey]
READ
Susan E. James, ‘Lady Jane Grey or Queen Kateryn Parr?’ in The Burlington Magazine, vol. 138, no. 114 (1996), pp 20-24. Can be accessed/purchased via JSTOR.
Eric Ives, Lady Jane Grey: a Tudor mystery (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011). Available at amzn.to/3EiF012
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/3atiEfi (UK link) OR amzn.to/36IqD5r (US link)
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004) amzn.to/3k9uD4Z (UK link) OR amzn.to/3wImKIh (US link)
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It does not affect the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
