‘My Lady Jane’ (2024) Cast and Character Guide

Amazon Prime Video has come up with its own fancier version of Bridgerton. The only difference would be that My Lady Jane uses real-life characters from history. The makers, however, have taken an alternate historical approach, which would mean there are some liberties taken in the context of some major characters, and their life stories may have been altered to suit the narrative. Set in England after the death of the promiscuous King Henry VIII, his last surviving children are still in court, and one of them wants the throne to themselves.

Spoilers Ahead

Lady Jane Grey

Emily Bader, as Lady Jane Grey, plays an interesting character who wants to be independent and live far away from the politics of her mother. She is the oldest daughter and is good friends with the then monarch, King Edward VI. Her mother uses that to her advantage and fixes her marriage alliance with the son of Lord Dudley, who is keen on being in power and close to the King. Lady Jane, however, has other plans for herself that do not work out, thanks to her mother, who thinks ten steps ahead. 

Jane has no option but to marry Lord Guildford Dudley. Even though she is attracted to him, the conditions under which they get married force her to keep him at bay. She is under the impression that a handsome person like Guilford will just break her heart, but she is in for a surprise. Jane never wanted to be a pawn in the political game her mother is playing. Even though Jane and Guildford plan to stay together after they make a deal, all of it goes out of the window when she is made the Queen as per King Edward VI’s last will. On becoming Queen, she has plans for modifications and reformations in the kingdom, especially with regards to the acceptance of Ethens in that society.

Lord Guildford Dudley

Edward Bluemel, as Lord Guildford Dudley, comes across as one of the handsome men of that era. Sadly, he harbors a major secret about himself, and his father has made sure his condition is not discussed outside of the mansion. Guildford’s father is a cunning man who is keen to get Guildford married to Jane only because of her proximity to the young yet sickly King Edward VI. Guildford turns out to be an Ethen, but unlike others, he is unable to control his transformation powers. He is born at a time when people like him are ostracized, and the people harboring them are to be killed as per royal decree. 

Guildford’s only aim is to find a cure for what he thinks is a disease. This is another reason he decides to marry Jane, as she is a gifted healer, and he hopes she will help him find nature’s cure for his problem. As husband-and-wife, Guildford and Jane do not get along initially, even though they are physically attracted to one another. They soon fall in love, only to realize she will be the monarch and Guildford will be the prince consort, and as time goes by, he will be expected to give heirs to their respective bloodlines. Guildford does not seek power and influence like his father; he comes around for his wife to be on her side, and hopes to end the prejudice against Ethens.

Lady Frances Grey

Anna Chancellor portrays the role of Lady Frances Grey, the conniving mother of Lady Jane Grey, who orchestrated her marriage to Lord Guildford Dudley. Lady Frances is only making contingency plans as her family home is taken over by the old Duke of Leicester, the next in line after her husband’s death. To secure the bloodline of her family, Lord Dudley is the only way out for her daughter Jane, as his family is keen on seeking power and proximity with the King, which they would receive through Jane’s friendship with King Edward VI. Lady Frances wants to make sure her daughters are married to the right kind of nobles to carry forward their bloodline. She is an ambitious woman who plans to create her own line of influence if Lady Jane succeeds in becoming the next monarch of England. Lady Frances plans to use her daughters as pawns and hopes they will not be ostracized or shunned by society. Securing power is not just a game men play; women are experts as well, and Lady Frances tries her level best to make sure her daughters attain positions of power. 

Katherine and Margaret Grey

Katherine Grey is portrayed by Isabella Brownson, and Robyn Betteridge is Margaret Grey in My Lady Jane. The younger Grey sisters are the sanest people Jane needs in her life. Their mother Lady Frances embarks on a journey to get hold of power through marriages of alliance. These sisters, unlike their mother, are grounded. Margaret, the youngest, is a street-smart noble girl who wants to learn every trick of the trade to remain steps ahead of boys her age. Katherine, however, is the meekest of the three sisters and tends to follow in the footsteps of her mother, constantly worrying about matters that concern Lady Frances as well. To her shock, Katherine’s mother got her married to the old Duke of Leicester out of desperation and hoped things would work out. Margaret, on the other hand, is disgusted at the thought of her older sister marrying an old man and never wants that fate for herself in the future. Both sisters can look after themselves as the story progresses, and Lady Frances will know what her younger daughters are capable of.

Princess Mary

Kate O’Flynn is the vengeful Princess Mary in My Lady Jane. As the oldest daughter of King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine, she had expected to be crowned the next monarch. But the court decided to go for the next son in line, which is Edward. King Edward VI is a lot younger than Princess Mary and Elizabeth, but he also has a deteriorating health condition. Princess Mary has a hatred for Ethens and has plans for the ostracized community once she is put on the throne. She showcases signs of a maniac who will eventually become the tyrant queen. Princess Mary is the one poisoning her brother to reclaim her rightful throne and rule as a Catholic queen, unlike many before, who were tolerant of protestants. 

Princess Mary tries to get rid of Jane as well after learning she is named the next Queen after King Edward VI. As a member of the royal family, she believes she has a lot of power, but she forgets that things can go against her in no time. Jane takes advantage of Mary’s rage against Ethens to prove she is a murderous woman. Jane initially believes Mary will never come back, but fate has different plans. 

Susannah

Máiréad Tyers, as Susannah, is a key character who has special powers. Susannah in My Lady Jane is Lady Jane’s best friend and a maid at their mansion. She also happens to be an Ethen. As an Ethen, she is born with the quality of transforming into any form of living being as per her will. Although there are many like her, almost all of them in the kingdom are thrown out of society, and they live together as a band of rebels fighting against growing discrimination against them. Sussanah comes back to Jane, continues to be her friend, and offers a reality check about how the Ethens are treated despite Jane trying to improve relations between the two communities. Sussanah is a strong-willed woman who could be considered far more empowered than Lady Jane and the other women around her. 

King Edward VI

Jordan Peters portrays the role of King Edward VI, a young monarch who is put on the throne shortly after his father’s passing. He is the only son of the deceased and infamous King Henry VIII and has been constantly sick ever since he took charge of the kingdom. He is not surrounded by smart people, and many are still loyal to his old stepsister, Princess Mary. King Edward is aware he can trust only a few, and one of them happens to be Lady Jane Grey. 

King Edward VI is not attracted to women, and as a result, he never plans to get married. He is gay, as per the show My Lady Jane and has kept that part of his life away from anyone. King Edward is smart yet naïve, as it takes forever for him to understand someone has been poisoning him slowly to keep him sick and eventually kill him. King Edward has no allies in the court, which is why he chose his best friend Lady Jane to be his successor and not his stepsisters. Everyone presumes King Edward VI to be dead at a certain point, and he never tries to deny it by coming back to his palace. He is kept away from the plotting of the palace so that his comeback is bigger, hopefully with an army that will support his claim. 

Lord Seymour

Dominic Cooper is the terrific Lord Seymour, the biggest supporter of Princess Mary in the court of King Edward VI. He also happens to be her lover. Both use each other inside and outside of bed in the hope they will sort each other out once both are in power. Lord Seymour goes out of his way to help Mary become the queen, event sourcing the poison from a street market to make sure Edward remains ill. They are good strategists, but Lord Seymour did not expect King Edward to torpedo them by placing Lady Jane on the throne. Lord Seymour is the only figure in the court who has seen Mary in her worst form and tries to help her control her rage when their plans go kaput many times. The man is afraid of what Mary is capable of, as she does not hesitate to plot the murder of her kin. Lord Seymour tries to pacify her when she has plans to go all guns blazing against Lady Jane and Ethens. Lord Seymour has a bigger role to play in the second season as Queen Mary has taken over, but the other two ousted monarchs are alive and will come back for their claims. 

Lord Dudley

Rob Brydon, as Lord Dudley, is the opportunist and insensitive father of Guildford Dudley. Just like Lady Frances Grey, he is a master manipulator who managed to convince his son to marry Jane against his will. Jane is a healer, and he hoped to use her influence over King Edward VI to get closer to the monarch. Lord Dudley managed to make his son Jane, claiming she would help him cure his so-called ailment. Guildford is an Ethen, and he wanted to be normal. Lord Dudley uses all his powers to make sure his son’s real condition is not leaked to the public, or else he will be hanged to death. It is Lady Jane who learns of Guildford’s condition and chooses to remain silent about it as the married couple slowly falls in love. However, Lord Dudley’s hunger for power never ends, as he convinces the king to make Lady Jane his heir. This was not to secure Jane’s future, but to secure his family’s power for the next few generations. 

Lord Dudley is a comical version of Lord Tywin Lannister from the Game of Thrones universe. Unlike the Lannister patriarch, Lord Dudley does make mistakes. Despite having been in prison for a crime he did not commit, it did not stop his hunger to put his son on the throne just for the sake of power and influence. The man comes across as greedy, never accepts his son’s condition, and brainwashes him into not liking himself. It is because Lord Dudley, a handsome man like Guildford, is filled with insecurities about his form.