Edward VI

Edward VI
Portrait by William Scrots, c. 1550
King of England and Ireland (more ...)
Reign	28 January 1547 – 6 July 1553
Coronation	20 February 1547
Predecessor	Henry VIII
Successor	Jane (disputed) or Mary I
Regents	Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset (1547–1549) John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland (1550–1553)
Born	12 October 1537 Hampton Court Palace, Middlesex, England
Died	6 July 1553 (aged 15) Greenwich Palace, England
Burial	8 August 1553 Westminster Abbey
House	Tudor
Father	Henry VIII of England
Mother	Jane Seymour
Religion	Church of England
Signature

Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine.^[a] The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his third wife, Jane Seymour, Edward was the first English monarch to be raised as a Protestant.^[2] During his reign, the realm was governed by a regency council because Edward never reached maturity. The council was first led by his uncle Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset (1547–1549), and then by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland (1550–1553).

Edward's reign was marked by many economic problems and social unrest that in 1549 erupted into riot and rebellion. An expensive war with Scotland, at first successful, ended with military withdrawal from Scotland and Boulogne-sur-Mer in exchange for peace. The transformation of the Church of England into a recognisably Protestant body also occurred under Edward, who took great interest in religious matters. His father, Henry VIII, had severed the link between the English Church and Rome, but continued to uphold most Catholic doctrine and ceremony. It was during Edward's reign that Protestantism was established for the first time in England with reforms that included the abolition of clerical celibacy and the Mass, and the imposition of compulsory English in church services.

In 1553, at age 15, Edward fell ill. When his sickness was discovered to be terminal, he and his council drew up a "Devise for the Succession" to prevent the country's return to Catholicism. Edward named his Protestant first cousin once removed, Lady Jane Grey, as his heir, excluding his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. This decision was disputed following Edward's death, and Jane was deposed by Mary nine days after becoming queen. Mary, a Catholic, reversed Edward's Protestant reforms during her reign, but Elizabeth restored them in 1559.

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