King Edward VI

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King Edward VI of England



Edward VI was the legitimate son of Henry VIII. Born on October 12, 1537 at Hampton Court, he was the fulfillment of his father’s tangled marital life (englishhistory.net). All Henry VIII ever wanted was a son to carry on the Tudor Dynasty, and though his first two wives could not provide that to him his third wife Jane Seymour did. Jane Seymour, who was the one wife he loved very deeply, died shortly after the birth of Edward VI from puerperal sepsis (the infections one is subject to when the proper sterilization is used during pregnancy) on October 24, 1537. The infant prince was the only male Tudor heir of his generation, but he was very sickly (englishhistory.net). During King Edward VI’s reign there were good things and bad, but he did not have any say so in any of them.
Henry VIII did all that he could to protect his son’s health. He had the castle sanitized and kept Edward VI in close seclusion. This ended when Henry VIII married his last wife, Katharine Parr, who became a beloved mother to Edward and he adopted the Protestantism which she championed (englishhistory.net).
He grew very close to his half-sister Elizabeth, and even shared a house with her for many years. His other half-sister Mary was a very zealous Catholic. The difference in age between them disabled from being very close. Edward succeeded his father to the throne at the age of nine (infoplease.com). He was just a figure though; still too young to make the big decisions that fall upon a King. At first uncle Edward Seymour was given Protectorship, but about ten years later John Dudley, duke of Nothumberland, took over the job.
When Edward came to rule Henry’s absolutism was relaxed by a liberalization of treason and heresy (infoplease.com). These things befell his reign because he was so young and due to this the nobles used the Regency to strengthen their own positions (royal.gov.uk). One of the bigg...