King Edward VI

1. King Edward VI 1537 – 1553 Ruled: 1547 - 1553

2. Overview Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour. He was 9 when he took the throne on the death of his father. He was raised as a true Protestant and held more extreme Protestant beliefs than his father. He did not reach maturity and therefore was not able to rule directly. Instead he was guided by a Regency Council headed first by his uncle Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset and then John Dudley the Duke of Northumberland. Edward’s reign was a time of political, social, economic and religious change and unrest. During his reign the Protestant Reformation in England moved forward He died without a direct heir.

3. Changes to the Church of England • Edward appointed Thomas Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury • He moved the Protestant Reformation in England forward and changed the Church of England from a Catholic Church without Papal Supremacy (under Henry VIII) to a truly Protestant Church both in structure and belief.

4. In 1549 Cranmer produced the Book of Common Prayer • This outlined how Church services should be conducted. • By doing this it also defined what the Church of England believed in terms of doctrine. • Justification by faith alone became part of the official doctrine of the Church of England as did consubstantiation. Communion in two kinds (taking both the bread and the wine) for the laity as well as the clergy was introduced • Church decoration became much simpler.

5. The organisation of the Church of England changed • The Monarch was confirmed as the Supreme Head of the Church. • The Government was now responsible for the recruitment and training of the clergy. They issued licences to allow clergy to preach and give the sacraments. • The last of the Church lands (the chantries) were seized and sold off. This produced further sums of money for the Crown and financially ruined the Church, making it dependent on the Government.

6. The end of Edward’s reign • Edward’s health had never been good and he was prone to bouts of serious illness. • He did not have a direct heir and therefore he issued a law concerning the succession. • He passed over his two half-sisters (Mary and Elizabeth) declaring them illegitimate. He placed the succession on the male descendants of his cousin once removed Lady Jane Grey. • The problem was that she did not have any sons yet so Edward, on the eve of his death, changed the succession to go to her.