After recently watching My Lady Jane, I’ve found myself in a paradox when trying to explain it to people. The show is based on a book, both of which brand themselves as being an alternate history and factually inaccurate. However, in order for this show to have been made, there had to be an immense understanding of the history that it involves. Let me explain…
First of all, who is Lady Jane Grey? If you don’t know, the show gives you a nice recap and I will as well. Lady Jane Grey is known as the 9 Days Queen who was on the English throne before Mary Tudor, better known as Bloody Mary. Henry VIII — the one who had six wives, NOT a feminist icon — was Mary’s father and passed both his daughters over, giving the throne to his son Edward instead. Like I said, Henry was a walking red flag. When Edward got sick, he didn’t want to choose either of his sisters and — quite randomly — gave the crown to his cousin instead, Lady Jane Grey. Of course, as her nickname suggests, this lasted only 9 days before Mary overthrew her.
Now that you know the main historical points, the premise of the show is “What if Lady Jane Grey’s story went differently,” or as the opening narration puts it: “Jane could have been the leader England needed. But instead, history remembers her as the ultimate damsel in distress. F*ck that! What if history were different?”
The modern aspects of the show shine through immediately. The first song to play is Tegan and Sara’s, Rebel, Rebel, as Jane pronounces her disdain of living in a man’s world. She’s rebellious and a feminist, and the dialogue is quite modern.
However, there might actually be more history in the show than fiction. Firstly, there are the Ethians and Verities. Ethians are animal shapeshifters being persecuted by Verities — “normal” people who are just jealous that they can’t be animals as well. The show adds in this magical element which is obviously made-up, right? Nope! This represents the Catholic and Protestant wars that were waging at this time, and shows which characters were at the risk of being persecuted. In the books, the explanations of each character’s animals are made even more clear — if you know your history well. For instance, King Henry is a lion which matches his coat of arms. Or someone else finds out that they’re an Ethian and their animal is the same as their mother’s family crest. These small details are purposeful nods for those familiar with this history and could not be made without the creators being very well-informed about this part of history.
The humour is also historically accurate. From characters complaining that they hate baths, or that everyone at this time is always a little drunk because they can’t drink the water, true historical facts ring loud and clear. The tone of the humour also matches the vibe of this time. If you’ve read Shakespeare or Tudor poems, you’ll be able to spot that the slightly sour and raunchy tone of the show would have received great laughs from the Tudor monarchs themselves. Of course, they might not understand who Tegan and Sara are.
The sets hold historically true, as well. While the castles themselves are not the real locations that the monarchs lived, the places that they selected best represent what the castles were actually like in the 1500s. One such location is Queen’s very own Herstmonceux Castle! While the show pretends it to be Hampton Court, the real Tudor palace, Hampton Court is not historically accurate anymore. Half of it was replaced with baroque architecture back in the 17th century and is used for Queen Charlotte’s castle in Bridgerton. Meanwhile, Herstmonceux Castle is much more accurate to Tudor times. As a faux-Medieval castle, Herstmonceux was able to stand-in as the real deal.
As a history student, it may not make any sense why I would approve of something that is self-aware of how wildly historically inaccurate it is. But underneath, it’s one of the most historically accurate shows I’ve ever seen. And you wouldn’t know from watching it because it’s fun — and historically accurate things usually aren’t. That’s one of the reasons I love it! So many historical shows are dull and uninteresting, but when shows go totally off the rails AND trick you into learning? Well, if you ask me, that’s the best history lesson out there!
You can watch all of My Lady Jane season 1 on Prime Video now.