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HENRY VIII, KING OF ENGLAND (1491-1547)
The Suffolk Garter Book
1547?RCIN 1047357
This manuscript of the Statutes of the Order of the Garter belonged to Henry Grey (1517–54), Marquess of Dorset (later Duke of Suffolk), the father of Lady Jane Grey. The Statutes set out the rules and conduct of the Order. To the left can be seen the shield of St George impaling the royal arms within the Garter, with those of Grey beneath.
Grey was often at court during Henry VIII’s reign and he acted as chief mourner at Henry’s funeral at Windsor in 1547. He received the Garter several months after Henry’s death, under Edward VI. The statutes however, are those of Henry’s reign, no revision having been made in the interim. Grey was stripped of his Garter and executed for treason, as was Lady Jane Grey, in 1554 after taking part in Sir Thomas Wyatt’s rebellion against Mary I.
Grey was often at court during Henry VIII’s reign and he acted as chief mourner at Henry’s funeral at Windsor in 1547. He received the Garter several months after Henry’s death, under Edward VI. The statutes however, are those of Henry’s reign, no revision having been made in the interim. Grey was stripped of his Garter and executed for treason, as was Lady Jane Grey, in 1554 after taking part in Sir Thomas Wyatt’s rebellion against Mary I.
