Bishop Nicholas Ridley Defends Lady Jane Grey's Claim to the Throne
On July 9, 1553, as England stood on the brink of a succession crisis following the death of King Edward VI, Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London, delivered a powerful sermon at St. Paul's Cross. Speaking before a large crowd, Ridley declared that Henry VIII's daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, were illegitimate and therefore had no lawful right to inherit the English crown. Instead, he urged support for Lady Jane Grey, whom Edward VI had named as his chosen successor.
Ridley's sermon reflected the political and religious tensions of Tudor England. A leading Protestant reformer, he feared that Mary, a devoted Catholic, would reverse the English Reformation if she became queen. Despite his passionate defense of Jane's claim, public support quickly shifted to Mary. Within days, Jane Grey's reign collapsed, Mary I seized the throne, and Ridley would eventually be arrested, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake in 1555—becoming one of the most famous Protestant martyrs of the Tudor era.
