Sir John Grey, of Groby, Leicestershire (c. 1432Douglas Richardson. ''Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families,'' 2nd Edition, 2011. pg 161-164. – 17 February 1461) was a Lancastrian knight, the first husband of Elizabeth Woodville who later married King Edward IV of England, and great-great-grandfather of Lady Jane Grey.

Titles

Grey was the son and heir of Elizabeth Ferrers, 6th Baroness Ferrers of Groby (1419–1483) and of Sir Edward Grey (c. 1415–1457), a son of Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn. His father was summoned to parliament as

Baron Ferrers of Groby Baron Ferrers of Groby (or Baron Ferrers de Groby) was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ on 29 December 1299 when William Ferrers, 1st Baron Ferrers of Groby was summoned to parliament. He was the son of Sir William de Fe ...

in right of his wife.Douglas Richardson & Kimball G. Everingham, ''Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families'', p. 359 After the death of Grey's father in 1457, his mother married his stepfather, John Bourchier, in 1462; he assumed his wife's title, Baron Ferrers of Groby. As Grey predeceased his mother, Lady Ferrers, the title of

passed to his eldest son and heir,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

. Grey was never summoned to Parliament. Another title,

Baron Grey of Groby Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or ...

, was created 21 July 1603 for his direct descendant, Henry Grey (c.1547–1614). On the death of his father, John inherited the title of Lord Astley from his father, who inherited it from his grandfather, which his son would inherit on his death.

Wife and children

About 1454, Sir John Grey married Elizabeth Woodville, the eldest daughter of Richard Woodville and

Jacquetta of Luxembourg Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Dowager Duchess of Bedford and Countess Rivers (1415 or 1416 – 30 May 1472) was a prominent, though often overlooked, figure in the Wars of the Roses. Through her short-lived first marriage to the Duke of Bedford, bro ...

. They had two sons,

, later

Marquess of Dorset The title Marquess of Dorset has been created three times in the Peerage of England. It was first created in 1397 for John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, but he lost the title two years later. It was then created in 1442 for Edmund Beaufort, 1st ...

, born in 1455, and

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

, born in 1457. Richard was aged about 26 when executed on the orders of Richard III in June 1483.''Sir John Grey (c.1432-1461), knight''
in ''Grey, Sir Richard (d. 1483), nobleman'' by Rosemary Horrox in ''Dictionary of National Biography'' online (accessed 26 November 2007) In 1491, John's widow, by then queen dowager, became the co-heiress of her brother,

Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers (1453 – 6 March 1491) succeeded his brother, Anthony Woodville, as the third Earl Rivers. He was the son of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, and Jacquetta of Luxembourg. Richard was the brother of the Engli ...

. She died a year later.

Death at the battle of St Albans

Sir John Grey was killed in the

Second Battle of St Albans The Second Battle of St Albans was fought on 17 February 1461 during the Wars of the Roses in England. It took place at St Albans in Hertfordshire, the first battle having been fought in 1455. The army of the Yorkist faction under the Earl of W ...

in 1461, fighting for the Lancastrian cause. His widow, Lady Elizabeth Grey, later secretly married Edward IV who was the successful

Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...

claimant to the throne.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, John Medieval English knights Year of birth uncertain 1432 births 1461 deaths John Grey of Groby People from Groby 15th-century English people Knights Bachelor

Titles

Wife and children

Death at the battle of St Albans

See also

References