Birth: 12 October 1537The precious heir to the throne, Edward VI, was the only son of Henry VIII from his third wife, Jane Seymour. Edward inherited the crown at the age of 9 upon the death of his father. Knowing that Edward would be in a position for others to take advantage of his young age, Henry VIII assigned a Council of Regency to help Edward govern until he was old enough to rule on his own. However, the council gave Edward’s uncle, Edward Seymour, also know as the 1st Duke of Somerset, the title of Lord Protector, meaning that Somerset initially was only supposed to act on the advice of the council. Instead, Somerset took control of the government and became virtually the ruler of England and turned Edward’s position into more of a ceremonial role.
The combination of economic hardships, chaotic foreign relations with Scotland and France, and the mess with the new religion and the Prayer Book Rebellion created an unrest with the people. The country blamed Somerset for these problems. John Dudley, 1st Earl of Warwick, overthrew Somerset in October 1549.
John Dudley was an ambitious man who sought power for his own means. He had Edward proclaim him as the 1 st Duke of Northumberland and then set off to be the largest landowner in England by taking hold of church properties. He also heavily imposed Protestantism on the citizens. The Book of Common Prayer was used in all Church services and the Bible would be accompanied by anti-Catholic annotations. Catholic symbols were destroyed, many dissenters were burned at the stake, and Protestant reformers replaced the most powerful Roman Catholic bishops.
However, Northumberland wanted to impose himself upon the royal family lineage. Dudley took advantage of a dying Edward, who was diagnosed with consumption in January 1553, by appealing to Edward’s fervent Protestantism. Northumberland manipulated Edward to not leave the succession as his father’s will intended: his half-sister Mary would be next, then Elizabeth, then Henry VIII’s sister Mary’s children. However, since Mary was a devout Catholic, Northumberland convinced Edward to declare his sisters bastards and passed the crown to Lady Jane Grey, who was Henry VIII’s sister’s granddaughter. Lady Jane Grey was one of Edward’s few close friends.
Then, Northumberland arranged a marriage between his son, Guildford, and Lady Jane. While Jane protested viciously that she was not the rightful heir to the throne, the Council declared her queen shortly after Edward’s death on July 6, 1663. Mary, Edward’s half sister, rose to claim the throne despite Northumberland’s failed attempt to capture her. Eventually, the Council abandoned their support of Northumberland as Mary received the public’s support as the rightful heir. Jane only reigned for 9 days and was a prisoner in the Tower of London until her execution in 1554. Northumberland was arrested and executed for treason in 1553.
Edward was an intelligent child; he learned how to read and speak Greek and Latin by the age of 7. He was close with his half-sister Elizabeth, as they bonded over their love of learning and writing different languages. He was also fond of his half-sister Mary, but their disputes over religion clouded their relationship. It is said that if Edward had not died at such an early age, he would have made a great king.