Thomas Grey, Lord Grey of Groby

Who was Thomas Grey, Lord Grey of Groby?

Thomas Grey, Lord Grey of Groby, was an elected Member of Parliament for Leicester during the English Long Parliament, an active member of the Parliamentary party and a regicide. He was the eldest son of Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford, using his father's as his own courtesy title, and Anne Cecil, daughter of William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter.

In January 1643, during the First English Civil War he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the forces of the Parliament in the Midland Counties and Governor of Leicester. In 1648 he won some credit for his share in the pursuit and capture of the Duke of Hamilton; he assisted Colonel Pride in purging the Parliament by helping to identify members to be excluded. Later in 1648, he was made commissioner of the court which tried King Charles I. His signature on the death warrant indicates that he was a strong advocate for the execution of the King, because he signed after the President of the court John Bradshaw and before Oliver Cromwell, who was third to sign out of a total of fifty nine commissioners and was the only person of nobility to sign the death warrant.