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Grey family

British noble family From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grey family
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The Grey family is an English family, descending from the Anglo-Norman de Greye family.[1] The patriarch of the family was Anchetil de Greye, a Norman chevalier and vassal of William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, one of the few proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.[2][3]

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In the 13th century, the Greys were ennobled as Barons Grey of Codnor, and of Ruthyn, and of Wilton. Some members of the family were later elevated as viscounts, earls, marquesses, dukes, and in the 16th century, one member became monarch.[4] Among them, King Edward VI declared his cousin Lady Jane Grey, "the Nine Days Queen", to be his successor as monarch of England and Ireland, and on his death, she reigned from 10 July through 19 July 1553 (according to her claim as the great-granddaughter of King Henry VII via her parents Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk, daughter of Mary Tudor, Queen of France), until she was deposed by her cousin Mary I, Queen of England, Ireland and Spain, known as "Bloody Mary". Notably, Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and abolished slavery in the British Empire in 1833.[5][6][7][8]

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Grey lineage

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11th century

Main articles: Anchetil de Greye and Henry de Grey

Anchetil de Greye (c. 1052 – after 1086) is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as the lord of six Oxfordshire manors.[9] His descendant was Sir Henry de Grey.[10]

13th century

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Grey's Monument (erected in 1833), in remembrance of Prime Minister Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, abolisher of slavery in the British Empire (1833)
Main articles: Sir John de Grey; Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton; and Gray's Inn

Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton (c. 1240–1308) was the son of Sir John de Grey and the namesake of one of the four Inns of Court, being Gray's Inn, which became of Reginald de Grey's Portpoole Manor. He was one of three commanders appointed by Edward I of England in his 1282 campaign against Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the rebellious last native Prince of Wales.[11]

14th century

Main articles: John de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Rotherfield and Order of the Garter

John de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Rotherfield (c. 1300–1359) is listed in the Bruges Garter Book as a founding knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter and a companion of Edward the Black Prince.[12] He was Lord Steward of the Royal Household of King Edward III.[13]

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The Streatham portrait of Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days' Queen, monarch of England and Ireland

16th century

Main articles: Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane Grey (c. 1537–1554) "the Nine Days' Queen" was the daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Queen of England and Ireland. Lady Jane was the great-granddaughter of King Henry VII through his daughter Mary Tudor, Queen of France. Due to this and her avowed Protestantism, King Edward VI nominated Lady Jane as his successor to the Crown, and she became Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553, until her deposition on 19 July 1553 by Mary I of England. In February 1554, both she and her father were executed for treason.[14]

19th century

Main articles: Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey and Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (c. 1764–1845) was the son of Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Lord Grey's government enacted the abolition of slavery in the British Empire by initiating the mass purchase of slaves from their owners in 1833. He had previously resigned as foreign secretary in 1807 to protest the King's uncompromising rejection of Catholic Emancipation. He is the namesake of Earl Grey tea.[15]

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Arms of Baron Grey of Codnor on a ceiling boss in the South Porch of Canterbury Cathedral, built in 1422

20th century

Main article: Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon

Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon (c. 1862–1933) is Britain’s longest serving Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1905–1916). He was the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of World War I, the centrepiece of his foreign policy being the defence of France against German aggression, while avoiding a binding alliance with Paris. His most consequential achievement in foreign policy was otherwise securing the Anglo-Russian entente of 1907.[16][17]

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Arms of the Greys

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    John Grey,
    1st Baron Grey de Rotherfield
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    Richard Grey,
    4th Baron Grey de Codnor
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    Arthur Grey,
    14th Baron Grey de Wilton
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    Richard Grey,
    3rd Earl of Kent
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    Thomas Grey,
    1st Marquess of Dorset
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    Henry Grey,
    Duke of Suffolk
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    Marchioness Grey
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    Barons Walsingham
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    Earls of Stamford and Warrington
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    Earls of Wilton
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    Grey-Egerton baronets
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    Charles Cornwall-Legh, 5th Baron Grey

See also

References

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