Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554) was proclaimed queen of England for a period of nine days after the death of Edward VI. Jane then resigned her claim in favor of Mary I. Jane was the granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary. She was an outstanding scholar, under the tutelage of John Aylmer, who later wrote a defense of women rulers on behalf of Jane's cousin Elizabeth. Jane was imprisoned in the Tower after Mary came to the throne, and executed in the wake of the rebellion led by Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger.