My Lady Jane's story utilizes a major disease as a central plot thread, which is known as "The Affliction."
Loosely based on the real-life Nine Days Queen, Lady Jane Grey, My Lady Jane takes inspiration from the same-named book. It explores the real-world historical events from that time period with some additional magic and fantasy elements.
Included in that adventure is King Edward VI, who ruled over England from 1547 until his death in 1553. In My Lady Jane, the role is played by Jordan Peters.
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The Affliction in My Lady Jane Explained
In Amazon Prime Video's My Lady Jane, the show's core premise includes an intense disease seen in Jordan Peters' King Edward VI. However, the story behind the disease comes with some wild twists later in the series.
According to real-world historical records, the real King Edward VI fell ill in January 1553 with a fever and a cough, which gradually got worse and weakened him. Although he showed signs of recovery on multiple occasions, the disease came back without fail over the next few months.
He eventually died in July 1553 at only 15 years old, although the story is reworked for the My Lady Jane plot.
Seen at age 16 in the series, the Affliction induces coughing blood, tiredness, aches, and pains for King Edward VI, forcing him to pick a successor to the throne.
While his father was an Ethian (a human who could change into an animal), his sister, Mary Tudor, is a regular human with a deep hatred of the Ethians. She also believes she will automatically be picked as Edward VI's successor as her brother suffers from the Affliction.
What is Really Happening to Edward IV?
My Lady Jane later reveals the Affliction in Edward VI to be something completely different. The truth of the matter is that he is being poisoned by people close to him who want to usurp his rule, including his own sister, Mary Tudor.
Due to her hatred of the Ethians and her personal history with the shapeshifters, she hopes to use the power of the throne to make sure the Verity (normal humans) retain supremacy.
Thankfully, Elizabeth (Edward and Mary's sister) helps Edward flee the palace to safety as they hope to cure him from being poisoned.
Speaking with Radio Times, Peters teased how the Affliction affects his character in the series, describing Edward as "a young king who struggled constantly with illness."
Outside of being sick, he hopes to avoid the pressures of ruling, wanting to "live a normal life" instead:
"My character is loosely based on King Edward VI, a young king who struggled constantly with illness. In our version, he is a king who is yearning to live a normal life. He wants to fall in love, to experience adventures, to not be burdened by the pressures of being king. However, certain people at court use these desires to take advantage of him."
While the Prime Video show changes a few major details from its historical inspiration, the disease plays just as big of a role here as it did in real life.
My Lady Jane is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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