Grey family explained

Grey
Type:Noble family
Coat Of Arms:Coat of Arms of Richard Grey, 4th Baron Grey of Codnor.svg
Coat Of Arms Size:130px
Country: United Kingdom
Early Forms:De Greye, Graye
Etymology:Graye-sur-Mer
Origin:Normandy
Founded:11th century
Founder:Anchetil de Greye
Current Head:Richard Henry Cornwall-Legh, 6th Baron Grey of Codnor
Final Head:(Patrilineal) Roger Grey,
10th Earl of Stamford
Titles:Queen of England (disputed)
Duke of Suffolk
Duke of Kent
Marquess of Dorset
Earl of Stamford
Earl of Huntingdon
Earl of Tankerville
Earl de Grey
Earl Grey
Earl of Kent
Viscount Fallodon
Viscount Glendale
Viscount Howick
Baron Powis
Baron Wilton
Baron Werke
Baron Codnor
Baron Bonville
Baron Walsingham
Baron Rotherfield
Lord Gray
Grey baronets
Estate:Wingfield Castle
Bradgate House
Dunham Massey

The Grey family is an ancient English noble family from Creully in Normandy. The founder 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.

The Greys were ennobled in the 13th century as Barons Grey of Codnor, of Ruthyn and of Wilton, and they were later elevated as viscounts, earls, marquesses, dukes; among them, King Edward VI declared his cousin Lady Jane Grey "the Nine Days' Queen" to be his successor as Queen of England and Ireland, and she reigned from 10 July through 19 July 1553 by her right 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 of England. Notably, Prime Minister Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey abolished slavery in the British Empire in 1833.[1]

Grey lineage

11th century

See main article: Anchetil de Greye and Henry de Grey. Anchetil de Greye (c. 1052 – after 1086) is listed in the Domesday Book as the lord of six Oxfordshire manors.[2] His descendant Sir Henry de Grey was the first of the Anglo-Norman Grey family who were called to parliament, raised to the peerage, married into royalty, appointed army generals, and consecrated bishops, as well as later distinguishing themselves in other professions.

13th century

See main article: 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.

14th century

See main article: John de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Rotherfield. 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.[3] He was Lord Steward of the Royal Household of King Edward III.[4]

16th century

See main article: 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. She thus became de facto 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.

19th century

See main article: 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.[5]

20th century

See 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.[6] [7]

Family tree

Bibliography

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://www.burkespeerage.com/ Burke's Peerage & Baronetage
  2. Web site: Ansketil (Of Graye) | Domesday Book.
  3. Book: Shaw . Wm. A. . The Knights of England: A Complete Record from the Earliest Time to the Present Day of the Knights of All the Orders of Chivalry in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and of the Knights Bachelors . 1971 . Genealogical Publishing Company . Baltimore . 1. 247620448.
  4. Henry Summerson, ‘Grey, John, first Lord Grey of Rotherfield (1300–1359)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008.
  5. Kramer, Ione. All the Tea in China. China Books, 1990. . Pages 180–181.
  6. Viscount Grey of Fallodon: Twenty-Five Years 1892–1916 (New York, 1925) p. 20 books.google.
  7. Web site: Archived copy . 2009-03-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090327062139/http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS094.pdf . 27 March 2009 . dmy-all . p. 8.