EDWARD VI

King Henry VIII waited for more than twenty years for this healthy son and heir. Jane Seymour, Henry’s third wife, was his mother. Sadly, he reigned for only six years and died at the young age of sixteen and he was a ‘pawn’ in the hands of unscrupulous men. He had the real makings of a good Kingof England. He was Edward VI.

At 2am in the morning, on 12th October, 1573, Jane Seymour gave birth to “the most beautiful boy that was ever seen”. Edward was born at Hampton Court Palace and his birth was greeted with cheers from the common people. The whole country had been waiting for this male heir for years and it was Henry VIII’s ‘life's-work’ to have a male heir. Te Deums were sung in churches, bonfires were lit, and “there was shott at the Tower that night above two thousands gonnes!” A lavish christening was held three days later in the chapel at the same Palace, and Mary was his godmother and Elizabeth carried the chrisom (Mary and Elizabeth were the little Prince’s two step-sisters). At the christening, the baby Prince was proclaimed the Duke of Cornwall and the earl of Chester. Henry VIII called his son his “precious jewel”. However, his mother, Jane Seymour, fell ill and died eleven days after giving birth to Edward. Henry VIII said: “Divine Providence — hath mingled my joy with bitterness of the death of her who brought me this happiness”.

The little Prince himself was healthy and suckled strongly from the beginning. Henry was seen “dallying with him in his arms — and so holding him in a window to the sight and great comfort of the people”. Edward was a robust child and, like his father, was athletically inclined. He was also intellectually gifted, learning Greek, Latin, French and theology. By the age of thirteen, Edward had read Aristotle’s Ethics in the original Greek. His father demanded exacting standards when it came to security and cleanliness with regards to his son’s household. Visitors, who had seen and met Edward, described him as a contented child, and no wonder, as Henry VIII’s only male heir was lavishly provided for with toys and comforts, and even his own troupe of minstrels. Edward’s studies also included geometry and music, learning to play the lute and the virginals. According to his tutor, Edward developed a grasp of monetary affairs at a young age. Edward’s religious instruction followed his father’s, favoring the reforming agenda.

Mary and Elizabeth were attentive to their baby step-brother and visited him many times. On one occasion, Elizabeth gave Edward a shirt that she herself had made. Edward was happiest mostly in Mary’s company: “I love you most” he wrote to her in 1546. Henry’s sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, encouraged her husband to reconcile with his daughters, and so in 1543, Henry spent Christmas with his son and two daughters. Maybe Henry VIII had found ‘family harmony’ at last. For Edward, Catherine was like a mother for the little Prince, and he wrote to her in 1546: “I received so many benefits from you that my mind can hardly grasp them”, calling Catherine his “most dear mother”.

Other children were brought in to play with Edward, who was educated with the sons of nobles, who were “appointed to attend upon him” in the form of a miniature court. Barnaby Fitzpatrick, who was the son of an Irish peer, became a close friend to Edward. However, the young Prince was more devoted to his school work and ‘outshone’ his classmates. Edward was motivated to do his “duty”, very much like his father, the King. Prince Edward’s surroundings and possessions were ‘regally splendid’, the rooms were hung with costly Flemish tapestries, and Edward’s clothes and books and cutlery were encrusted with precious jewels and gold. The young Prince was fascinated by military arts (again, like his father), and many of Edward’s portraits show him wearing a gold dagger with a jeweled hilt.

On 10th January, 1547, nine year old Edward wrote to his father and step-mother, thanking them for their new-year’s gift of their portraits from life. By 28th January (1547), his father was dead. Edward was told of his father’s death at Enfield, alongside his step-sister, Elizabeth. It was there also, that they heard the reading of their father’s will.

Edward was now the King of England, and was taken to the Tower of London, where he was welcomed with “great shott of ordnance in all places there about, as well as out of the Tower as out of the ships”. Seymour was announced as Protector and the late King, Henry VIII, was laid to rest alongside Edward’s mother, Jane Seymour (as per his Father’s wishes). Edward VI was crowned on Sunday 20th February at Westminster Abbey. As Edward was still young (under ten) , the ceremonies were shortened.

The people were excited about their new, young King, and when Edward rode from the Tower to the Palace of Westminster, he rode through thronging crowds and pageants, even laughing at a Spanish tightrope walker who tumbled and played with many toys outside St.Paul’s Cathedral.

The late King, Henry VIII, decreed that during his son’s minority (Edward was only nine years old and therefore too young to rule), the government was to be run by a council of regency. However, Edward’s uncle, Edward Seymour, almost ruled supreme as regent with the title of Protector. Seymour was overthrown in 1549 by John Dudley, who was the Earl of Warwick and who became the Duke of Northumberland. Gaining control over the new, young King, Northumberland put Edward VI forward, at the tender age of fourteen, to be entitled to have all the power of the Late King. Northumberland wanted to control the Country through the young Edward VI. he wanted to consolidate the English Reformation, which actually agreed with the young King’s own devotion to Protestantism. Historians have likened Edward VI to an “articulate puppet” at this time.

At fourteen, though, Edward was beginning to understand what was going on around him, so a special “Council for the Estate” was created and the young King chose the members himself. Edward VI worked closely with William Cecil and William Petre, who were the principal secretaries. Like his father, Henry VIII, Edward’s greatest influence was over religion and following the Protestant policy. However, Northumberland “became a quasi-king” and he managed the bureaucracy ‘on the pretense’ that Edward VI had full sovereignty.

In 1553, the young Edward VI became ill and had several improvements and relapses. Edward VI wanted the Crown of England to go to his cousin, once removed, who was the sixteen year old Lady Jane Grey (who had married Lord Guilford Dudley, who was the younger son of Northumberland). His step-sister, Mary, was Catholic and he could not allow her to rule, and his other step-sister, Elizabeth, had been declared illegitimate before he was born.

The fever and cough, which had started in January, 1553, gradually became worse, and Edward struggled to breathe. His legs had swollen up so badly that the young King had to lie on his back, and eventually lost the fight. Edward VI told his tutor: “I am glad to die”. Edward VI died at Greenwich Palace on 6th July, 1553. He was only sixteen years old and had died of tuberculosis. The young Edward VI had the potential to be a great King but was managed, brilliantly, by unscrupulous men. It was thought that the young King had been poisoned but the evidence suggests that Edward VI died of tuberculosis.

Edward VI was a “precious jewel” in his father’s eyes, who had such high hopes for his only son, and even though he only reigned for six years, the young Edward VI still left his mark within the pages of history.

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