Prince Edward was the son that Henry VIII had longed for, born to the unfortunate Jane Seymour, who died 12 days after giving birth to him. Edward was a sickly child – he may have been suffering from congenital syphilis – but this didn't affect his mind. He was very bright, easily learning French, Latin and Greek.
A few days after Henry died on 28 January 1547, the nine-year-old was crowned king at Westminster Abbey. The service was led by Thomas Cranmer, who told the congregation that, although he had administered the oath to the king, neither he nor any other man had the right to hold him to account, for, chosen by God alone, the king was answerable only to God. The absolutism established by Henry VIII thus stood revealed.
Under Henry's will, Edward would be assisted by a Council of Regency until he became an adult. All its members were inclined towards reform of the Church, especially the duke of Somerset, the young monarch's uncle, who was 'lord protector of the realm and governor of the king's person'.
Under the influence of Cranmer and Somerset, Edward became a radical Protestant. When he was only 12, he wrote that the pope was 'the true son of the devil, a bad man, an Antichrist and an abominable tyrant'. So with his blessing, the English Reformation began.
An orgy of destruction took place in churches across the country, and the publication of Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer in 1549 caused riots and uprisings. These were easily defeated, but Edward faced a more dangerous threat from his sister Mary. A devout Catholic, she had discovered her true vocation – to be the beacon of the old religion in England – and she openly continued to hear mass in the traditional Latin liturgy.
At Christmas 1550, the 13-year-old Edward upbraided his 34-year-old sister for daring to break his laws. Humiliated, Mary burst into tears, but she still refused to submit. When she was next summoned to court, she came with a retinue of 50 knights and 80 ladies, all conspicuously carrying rosaries. When she was called before the king and Council, she played her trump card: the Holy Roman emperor Charles V, her cousin on her mother's side. The imperial ambassador hurried to court to threaten war if Mary were not given freedom of religion. The Council backed off.
In April 1552, Edward contracted measles and smallpox. He seemed to recover, but by winter, he was coughing blood – a sure sign of tuberculosis – and by spring 1553, it was obvious that he was dying. According to Henry's will, Mary would succeed Edward as queen and would be able to change the religion of England to comply with her own beliefs. This was intolerable to the hotly Protestant boy king, so he decided to change the rules.
He wrote his own 'Device for the Succession'. First, he excluded Elizabeth as well as Mary on the grounds that both were bastards. Second, he transferred the throne to his cousins, the Greys. If Edward could make his choice stick, the impeccably Protestant and deeply learned Lady Jane Grey would succeed him as queen.
Edward's solution was, in fact, illegal. Henry had settled the succession with a will, but he also had the backing of an Act of Parliament. Edward's device had no such legal basis, and he was too young to make a valid will. His advisers told him so, but the dying boy flew into such a rage that they agreed to it. It was his last act as king.
On 6 July 1553, Edward died. Four days later, the 16-year-old Lady Jane Grey was brought to the Tower of London to be proclaimed queen. But, to many, Edward's contempt for the law was unacceptable. And the Grey faction had made one mistake – they had failed to arrest Edward's sister Mary.
|
|
 King Edward VI
http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs
/edward6.html
Good biography of Edward's short life and his relationships with his father and stepmothers, with diary entries and portraits.
 |
The Boy King: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation by Diarmaid MacCulloch (University of California Press, 2002)
Illuminates the significance of Edward's turbulent and neglected reign by taking a fresh look at the life and beliefs of the young king and of the ruthless politicians who jostled for power around him.
Get this book
|
 |
England's Boy King: The diary of Edward VI, 1547-1553 by Jonathan North (Ravenhall Books, 2005)
Throughout his short reign as king, from age nine until his death at 15, the young Edward kept a detailed diary, recounting events in his kingdom. This is a fascinating record of Tudor England as seen through his eyes.
Get this book
|
Channel 4 Television takes no responsibility for the content of third-party sites. |
|
