No record of Rychard Gregorye’s birth has survived; therefore, I have estimated his birth year to be 25 years prior to his recorded marriage in 1559. This calculation suggests that his birth year would be around 1534, aligning Rychard’s birthdate broadly with that of the future Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), the last of the five Tudor monarchs.
Rychard was born and lived during a time of significant change in England. His early years coincided with King Henry VIII’s decision to break from Rome, the dissolution of the monasteries, and the growing acceptance of Protestantism in England. When Henry VIII died in 1547, his nine-year-old son, Edward VI, succeeded him.
Edward VI was England’s first Protestant king. His support for the Protestant cause ultimately led him to sign a ‘Device for the Succession’ to prevent his Catholic older sister, Mary, from inheriting the throne and restoring Catholicism as the state religion in England.
This ‘Device’ led to Lady Jane Grey, Edward’s first cousin once removed and a Protestant, becoming ‘the nine days queen’. Lady Jane was born in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, approximately 7 miles from Desford. The ruins of her home are situated within a beautiful deer park that welcomes visitors throughout the year.
Lady Jane’s reign concluded just nine days after it commenced when overwhelming support for Henry VIII’s eldest daughter prompted the Council to proclaim Mary as queen. During Mary’s five-year reign, she made a resolute attempt to reverse the English Reformation and restore Catholicism in England.
Mary died without leaving a successor, which resulted in her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth ascending to the throne in November 1558 at the age of twenty-five. Three months later, on February 2, 1559, Richard Gregory married Margaret Stringer at Desford Church.
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