King Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 1547 until his death in 1553. He was the only son of King Henry VIII and Jane Seymour. Edward was born at Hampton Court Palace on 12 October 1537. He was a sickly child and was often ill throughout his life.
Edward‘s father, Henry VIII, was a powerful and charismatic king. He had broken with the Catholic Church and established the Church of England. Edward was raised as a Protestant, and he was a strong supporter of the Reformation.
When Edward was nine years old, his father died. Edward‘s uncle, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, became the Lord Protector of England. Somerset was a Protestant reformer, and he continued to promote the Reformation during Edward‘s reign.
In 1549, Somerset was overthrown by a group of nobles led by John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. Northumberland became the new Lord Protector, and he continued to support the Reformation. However, Northumberland was more interested in power than in religion. He was also ambitious, and he wanted to make his own son king.
In 1553, Edward became seriously ill. He knew that he was dying, and he wanted to make sure that a Protestant succeeded him to the throne. He therefore wrote a will in which he named his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, as his successor.
Edward died on 6 July 1553. He was only fifteen years old. His death was a great blow to the Protestant cause. Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed queen, but she was overthrown by Mary I, Henry VIII‘s daughter by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Mary was a Catholic, and she restored the Catholic Church in England.
Edward VI was a young and sickly king, but he had a significant impact on English history. He was a strong supporter of the Reformation, and he helped to establish the Church of England. His death was a turning point in English history, and it led to the Catholic restoration under Mary I.
