Edward VI, king of England and Ireland

What Wikipedia says :

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. 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. 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. .../...

Continued on Wikipedia

Text below taken from the Biographie universelle des hommes qui se sont fait un nom by F.X. Feller. - 1860

 

EDWARD VI, son of Henry VIII and Joan Seymour, born on 12 October 1538, came to the throne of England at the age of 10, in 1547, and lived for only 16 years. The role he played was short and bloody. He showed a taste for virtue and humanity, but his ministers corrupted this happy nature. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Crammer, was one of those who contributed most. It was through his insinuations that the Mass was abolished, images smashed, the Roman religion outlawed and the blood of Catholics widely spilled.

The churches were pillaged and ransacked," says the Protestant Heylin, "without the king benefiting in any way. For although he had derived inexpressible riches from them, as well as from the sale of lands, he was not only burdened with debts, but also the revenues of the crown diminished considerably during his reign".

Something was taken from each of the different sects of Zuingle, Luther and Calvin, and a symbol was composed which formed the Anglican religion: a monstrous composition, an edifice of caprice and scepticism, a worthy fruit and a quite natural effect of separation from the true Church.

Edward's reign was blighted by another injustice, which the taste for reform and the insinuations of his ministers tore from him: he removed his two sisters Mary and Elizabeth from the throne and appointed his cousin Joan Gray to it. He died in 1553.

The comments expressed here regarding religion are those of the author of this 1860 biography, and in no way correspond to the opinions of the author of this site.