Guildford Dudley

Lord Guildford Dudley
Guildford Dudley as depicted at the Palace of Westminster in Victorian art work
Born	c. 1535
Died	12 February 1554 Tower Hill, London
Cause of death	Decapitation
Resting place	St Peter ad Vincula, London
Spouse(s)	Lady Jane Grey (m. 1553–54; their deaths)
Parent(s)	John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland Jane Guildford

Lord Guildford Dudley (also spelt Guilford) (c. 1535 – 12 February 1554) was the husband of Lady Jane Grey who, declared as his heir by King Edward VI, occupied the English throne from 10 July until 19 July 1553. Guildford Dudley enjoyed a humanist education and was married to Jane in a magnificent celebration about six weeks before the King's death. After Guildford's father, the Duke of Northumberland, had engineered Jane's accession, Jane and Guildford spent her brief rule residing in the Tower of London. They were still in the Tower when their regime collapsed and they remained there, in different quarters, as prisoners. They were condemned to death for high treason in November 1553. Queen Mary I was inclined to spare their lives, but Thomas Wyatt's rebellion against her plans to marry Philip of Spain led to the young couple's execution, a measure that was widely seen as unduly harsh.

Lord Guildford Dudley was the second youngest surviving son of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, and his wife, Jane Guildford. The Dudley lineage goes back to a family called Sutton. In the early 14th century they became the lords of Dudley Castle, from whom Guildford descended through his paternal grandfather. This was Edmund Dudley, a councillor of Henry VII, who was executed after his royal master's death. Through his father's mother, Elizabeth Grey, Viscountess Lisle, Guildford descended from the Hundred Years War heroes, Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury.