Edward VI Biography and Timeline

Succession Act

Parliament declares Mary and Elizabeth illegitimate and gives Henry VIII wider authority over the succession; Edward is born the following year.

Role range: 1547-1553

Birth of Edward VI

Edward, the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, is born at Hampton Court Palace as the king's legitimate male heir.

Role range: 1547-1553

Birth of Prince Edward

Jane Seymour gives birth to Edward, providing Henry VIII with the surviving legitimate son who immediately becomes heir to the crown.

Baptism of Edward VI

Prince Edward is christened in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court, with his half-sister Mary serving as godmother.

Role range: 1547-1553

Death of Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour dies at Hampton Court twelve days after giving birth to Edward.

Role range: 1547-1553

Treaty of Greenwich

England and Scotland sign treaties providing for peace and the future marriage of Prince Edward to Mary, Queen of Scots.

Role range: 1543-1551 – 1547-1553

Rough Wooing

The proposed marriage between Edward and Mary, Queen of Scots, becomes central to the conflict later known as the Rough Wooing.

Role range: 1543-1551 – 1547-1553

Appointment of John Cheke

John Cheke is summoned from Cambridge to help educate Prince Edward in languages, scripture, philosophy and the liberal sciences.

Role range: 1547-1553

Education of Edward VI

Edward receives an intensive humanist education centred on Latin, Greek, scripture, rhetoric and classical authors.

Role range: 1547-1553

Classical Studies

Edward's tutors report strong progress in Latin composition, scripture and classical texts before his accession.

Role range: 1547-1553

Henry VIII Will

Henry VIII's final will confirms Edward first in the succession, followed by Mary and Elizabeth if Edward dies without heirs.

Role range: 1547-1553

Accession

Edward succeeds Henry VIII as King of England at the age of nine.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward VI Accedes to the Throne

Edward becomes king on Henry VIII's death, placing the crown in the hands of the only surviving legitimate Tudor son.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward VI Proclaimed King

Edward is publicly proclaimed king, implementing the succession order established by statute and Henry VIII's will.

Role range: 1547-1553

Lord Protector

Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, becomes Lord Protector and takes the leading role in government during Edward's minority.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward Moves to Tower before Coronation

Edward enters the Tower before the coronation, following the traditional sequence used by earlier English monarchs.

Role range: 1547-1553

Coronation Procession

Edward takes part in the traditional procession through London on the eve of his coronation.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward's City Procession Begins

Edward travels through London in a formal public procession on the eve of his coronation.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward's Coronation Knights Created

Ceremonial knighthoods accompany the young king's pre-coronation celebrations at the Tower.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward's Coronation Pageants

Civic pageants along the processional route present political and religious messages appropriate to the new Protestant-leaning reign.

Role range: 1547-1553

Coronation

Edward VI is crowned at Westminster Abbey while still a minor.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward Receives Coronation Regalia

Edward is invested with the principal symbols of kingship before his crowning.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward Receives Homage

Leading peers perform homage to the newly crowned minor king after the crowning rite.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward VI Crowned

Edward receives the crown in Westminster Abbey and becomes the first Protestant-raised Tudor monarch to undergo the rite.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward's Coronation Communion

The service closes with Edward receiving communion, completing the religious inauguration of the nine-year-old Tudor king.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward's Coronation Feast

A formal banquet follows the coronation and completes the public inauguration of Edward's reign.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward's Coronation Oath

The nine-year-old king swears the coronation oath as the service establishes his public obligations as monarch.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward's Coronation Recognition

The young Edward is shown to the assembled worshippers for their recognition before he undertakes the obligations of kingship.

Role range: 1547-1553

Coronation Sermon

Archbishop Thomas Cranmer preaches at Edward's coronation and presents the young king's rule in strongly reforming religious terms.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward's Coronation Council Planning

The regency government plans a coronation suitable for a nine-year-old king while preserving the essential religious and political rites.

Role range: 1547-1553

Boulogne Boundary Agreement

Approves a treaty defining the territorial limits of the English-held Boulogne district under the earlier peace settlement.

Role range: 1547-1553

French Peace Inheritance Confirmed

Confirms the Anglo-French settlement inherited from Henry VIII and accepts the existing arrangements governing Boulogne.

Role range: 1547-1553

Book of Homilies

The first Book of Homilies is published by royal authority for clergy to read in churches.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edwardian Royal Injunctions Issued

Royal injunctions order further reform of parish worship, preaching and images during the opening months of Edward VI's Protestant government.

Role range: 1547-1553

Parliament

The first Parliament of Edward VI opens and begins legislating on religion, government and social policy.

Role range: 1547-1553

Edward VI's First Parliament Opens

Edward VI's first Parliament assembles and begins a wide programme of Protestant, criminal and social legislation under the regency government.

Role range: 1547-1553

Communion in Both Kinds

Convocation approves receiving communion in both bread and wine, a major departure from late medieval English practice.

Role range: 1547-1553

Election of Bishops Act

Parliament changes the legal form of episcopal appointments, strengthening the Crown's authority over the English Church.

Role range: 1547-1553

Treason Act

Parliament repeals several Henrician treason provisions and restores a narrower statutory definition of treason.

Role range: 1547-1553

Vagrancy Act

A severe law against vagrancy receives royal assent during the first parliamentary session of Edward's reign.

Role range: 1547-1553