Thomas Grey, Lord Grey of Groby
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Thomas Grey, Lord Grey of Groby (c. 1623–1657), was the 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 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 helped to identify members to be excluded. later in the same year; and he was a 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 (judges).
A member of the Council of State under the Commonwealth, Lord Grey of Groby fought against the Scots in 1651 during the Third English Civil War. A supporter of the Good Old Cause, in February 1655 during the Protectorate he was arrested on suspicion of conspiring against Cromwell who was by now Lord Protector. He was, however, soon released, but he predeceased his father in April or May 1657. His only son succeeded as 2nd Earl of Stamford.
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- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
