This biography presents the whole career of the controversial sixteenth century statesman, John Dudley. As Lord President of the council which governed Edward VI's minority, he was the most powerful man in England between 1550 and 1553, notorious for his attempt to alter the succession to the throne in favour of his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey. This is a critical reassessment of a man who was the last medieval magnate and perhaps the greatest of the Tudor service nobility.