Birth of Catherine Grey
Catherine Grey is born to Frances Brandon and Henry Grey and later becomes an important potential Protestant successor to Elizabeth I.
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Catherine Grey Biography and Timeline
Follow Catherine Grey through 8 dated historical records for England.
Catherine Grey, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
8Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1540–1568Years on this page
1540
1546
Grey Line Retained in Contingent Succession
Henry VIII's final succession arrangements leave descendants of his younger sister Mary Tudor's Grey line as contingent heirs after his own children.
1560
Catherine Grey Secretly Marries Hertford
Catherine Grey secretly marries Edward Seymour without royal permission, a serious political act because Henry VIII's settlement placed her line near the succession.
1561
Catherine Grey Pregnancy Revealed
Catherine's pregnancy exposes her secret marriage and alarms Elizabeth because a child could strengthen a competing Protestant claim to the throne.
Birth of Edward Seymour Beauchamp
Catherine gives birth to Edward Seymour while imprisoned, creating a male descendant of Mary Tudor with a potentially important future claim.
1562
Grey Marriage Declared Invalid
An ecclesiastical commission declares Catherine Grey's marriage invalid because proof of the ceremony is judged insufficient, making her son's legitimacy disputed.
1563
Birth of Thomas Seymour Grey-Line Heir
Catherine gives birth to a second son during confinement, extending the Grey-Seymour line despite the government's refusal to recognise the marriage as valid.
1568
Death of Catherine Grey
Catherine Grey dies in custody, leaving her two sons as disputed representatives of the Tudor-descended Suffolk line.
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.