Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen of England on Monday, 10 July 1553, and took up residence in the Tower of London that evening, as was customary for all new English monarchs. Four days later, on Friday, 14 July 1553, this royal warrant, together with an inventory of jewels and fine fabrics requisitioned by Queen Jane out of the stores of the Royal Treasury and the Royal Wardrobe, was prepared, both under the signature "Jane the Quene" and authorizing the transfer of the various items from the Palace of Westminster to the Tower.
     Some portion of the items listed in the inventory had apparently already been moved from the Palace to the Tower under the authority of a verbal order but without a written command, and the warrant therefore specifically absolves the Sir Andrew Dudley, Keeper of the Palace of Westminster and Jane's uncle by marriage, and his assistant Sturton of any misconduct in so doing.
     The warrant and inventory are both in a secretarial hand, perhaps that of Sir Richard Rich, who in June 1553 was recalled to the Privy Council to support Edward VI's alteration of the succession. What appear to be his initials mark several places on the two documents as well as the upper lefthand corner of each first page. The handwriting is also similar to that of Sir William Cecil, then secretary to the Council. A contemporary but different hand, perhaps that of Andrew Dudley or Sturton, has added numbers down the left column, probably as an aid to auditing the inventory.

     The warrant is reproduced here with the original spelling. It is also in the same format and lineation as the original manuscript. And though it is not possible to reproduce the exact appearance of the handwriting itself, some effort has been made to choose a font that approximates the original.