Edward VI

Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. Edward, the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty, was England's first Protestant ruler. Although his father and predecessor, Henry VIII, had broken the link between English Catholicism and Roman Catholicism, it was during Edward's reign that the decisive move was made from Catholicism to a form of Protestantism which came to be known as Anglicanism.

The Prince Edward, Duke of Cornwall was an extremely sickly child; it has been theorised that he suffered from congenital syphilis. The Duke of Cornwall's frailty led Henry VIII to quickly seek to remarry; the King's last three marriages, however, did not produce any children. The Duke of Cornwall's physical difficulties did not impede his education; at the age of seven, he was already able to speak Latin. He later learnt to speak French and Greek; by the age of thirteen, he found himself translating books into the latter language.

Powerful influence on Edward VI was Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Both Cranmer and the Duke of Somerset began the process of creating a Protestant England. Various Catholic rites were replaced with Protestant ones. The Duke of Somerset, however, did not encourage persecution; rather, he refrained from it, as he feared the wrath of Europe's powerful Catholic monarchs, especially Edward's half-cousin, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

Edward, who was dying in 1553, was enough the master of his own destiny to have concerns about the succession. Having been brought up a Protestant, he had no desire to be succeeded by his half-sister, the Lady Mary.

Edward died in Greenwich on 6 July 1553, either of tuberculosis or of arsenic poisoning or of syphilis. He would later be buried in Westminster Abbey.

Edward VI's death was kept a secret for a few days so that preparations could be made for Jane's accession. High civic authorities privately swore their allegiance to the new Queen, who was not publicly proclaimed until 10 July. But the people were much more supportive of the rightful heir under the Act of Succession, Mary. On 19 July, Mary triumphantly rode into London, and Jane was forced to give up the Crown. Jane's proclamation was revoked as an act done under coercion; her succession was correctly deemed unlawful. Thus, Edward's de jure successor was Mary I, but his de facto successor was Jane.

After Edward's death at the age of fifteen, rumours of his survival persisted. To take advantage of the people's delusions, several imposters were put forward as rightful Kings. These impersonations continued throughout Mary I's reign, and even far into Elizabeth I's reign.

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