Edward VI
Succession Act
London
Parliament declares Mary and Elizabeth illegitimate and gives Henry VIII wider authority over the succession; Edward is born the following year.
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Tudor monarch
Edward VI: Reign, Timeline and Events
Browse records from Edward VI’s short reign, including the protectorates, religious reform, rebellion, war with Scotland and the developing succession crisis.
Edward VI, reform and the mid-Tudor succession
Edward VI inherited the crown as a child in 1547. His reign is therefore closely connected with the governments led first by Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, and later by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, alongside accelerating Protestant reform and political unrest.
Continue into the Mary I records for the 1553 succession, use the family tree for the dynastic branches, or browse the plots and rebellions archive for challenges to Tudor government.
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63historical records
11years represented
2named people
14places represented
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1536 · 1 record
1537 · 4 records
Edward VI
Birth of Edward VI
Hampton Court
Edward, the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, is born at Hampton Court Palace as the king's legitimate male heir.
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Edward VI
Birth of Prince Edward
Hampton Court Palace
Jane Seymour gives birth to Edward, providing Henry VIII with the surviving legitimate son who immediately becomes heir to the crown.
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Edward VI
Baptism of Edward VI
Hampton Court
Prince Edward is christened in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court, with his half-sister Mary serving as godmother.
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Edward VI
Death of Jane Seymour
Hampton Court
Jane Seymour dies at Hampton Court twelve days after giving birth to Edward.
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1544 · 2 records
Edward VI
Appointment of John Cheke
John Cheke is summoned from Cambridge to help educate Prince Edward in languages, scripture, philosophy and the liberal sciences.
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Edward VI
Education of Edward VI
Hertford
Edward receives an intensive humanist education centred on Latin, Greek, scripture, rhetoric and classical authors.
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1546 · 2 records
Edward VI
Classical Studies
Edward's tutors report strong progress in Latin composition, scripture and classical texts before his accession.
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Edward VI
Henry VIII Will
London
Henry VIII's final will confirms Edward first in the succession, followed by Mary and Elizabeth if Edward dies without heirs.
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1547 · 27 records
Edward VI
Accession
London
Edward succeeds Henry VIII as King of England at the age of nine.
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Edward VI
Edward VI Accedes to the Throne
London
Edward becomes king on Henry VIII's death, placing the crown in the hands of the only surviving legitimate Tudor son.
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Edward VI
Edward VI Proclaimed King
London
Edward is publicly proclaimed king, implementing the succession order established by statute and Henry VIII's will.
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Edward VI
Edward Moves to Tower before Coronation
Tower of London
Edward enters the Tower before the coronation, following the traditional sequence used by earlier English monarchs.
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Edward VI
Coronation Procession
London
Edward takes part in the traditional procession through London on the eve of his coronation.
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Edward VI
Edward's City Procession Begins
London
Edward travels through London in a formal public procession on the eve of his coronation.
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Edward VI
Edward's Coronation Knights Created
Tower of London
Ceremonial knighthoods accompany the young king's pre-coronation celebrations at the Tower.
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Edward VI
Edward's Coronation Pageants
London
Civic pageants along the processional route present political and religious messages appropriate to the new Protestant-leaning reign.
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Edward VI
Coronation
Westminster Abbey
Edward VI is crowned at Westminster Abbey while still a minor.
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Edward VI
Edward Receives Coronation Regalia
Westminster Abbey
Edward is invested with the principal symbols of kingship before his crowning.
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Edward VI
Edward Receives Homage
Westminster Abbey
Leading peers perform homage to the newly crowned minor king after the crowning rite.
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Edward VI
Edward VI Crowned
Westminster Abbey
Edward receives the crown in Westminster Abbey and becomes the first Protestant-raised Tudor monarch to undergo the rite.
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Edward VI
Edward's Coronation Communion
Westminster Abbey
The service closes with Edward receiving communion, completing the religious inauguration of the nine-year-old Tudor king.
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Edward VI
Edward's Coronation Feast
Westminster Hall
A formal banquet follows the coronation and completes the public inauguration of Edward's reign.
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Edward VI
Edward's Coronation Oath
Westminster Abbey
The nine-year-old king swears the coronation oath as the service establishes his public obligations as monarch.
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Edward VI
Edward's Coronation Recognition
Westminster Abbey
The young Edward is shown to the assembled worshippers for their recognition before he undertakes the obligations of kingship.
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Edward VI
Edward's Coronation Council Planning
London
The regency government plans a coronation suitable for a nine-year-old king while preserving the essential religious and political rites.
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Edward VI
Boulogne Boundary Agreement
Boulogne
Approves a treaty defining the territorial limits of the English-held Boulogne district under the earlier peace settlement.
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Edward VI
French Peace Inheritance Confirmed
London
Confirms the Anglo-French settlement inherited from Henry VIII and accepts the existing arrangements governing Boulogne.
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Edward VI
Edwardian Royal Injunctions Issued
England
Royal injunctions order further reform of parish worship, preaching and images during the opening months of Edward VI's Protestant government.
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Edward VI
Edward VI's First Parliament Opens
Westminster
Edward VI's first Parliament assembles and begins a wide programme of Protestant, criminal and social legislation under the regency government.
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Edward VI
Chantries Dissolution Act Enacted
Westminster
A new Chantries Act transfers chantry foundations and much of their property to the Crown, weakening institutions devoted to intercessory masses.
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Edward VI
Communion in Both Kinds Required
Westminster
Parliament permits and requires lay communicants to receive both bread and wine, marking a major liturgical change from late medieval practice.
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Edward VI
Edwardian Chantries Act Passed
Westminster
Parliament dissolves chantries, religious guilds and related foundations, transferring substantial property to the Crown.
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Edward VI
Edwardian Treason Act Passed
Westminster
Parliament repeals several expansive Henrician treason provisions and requires stronger evidential safeguards in many treason prosecutions.
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Edward VI
Edwardian Vagrancy Act Passed
Westminster
Parliament imposes exceptionally severe penalties on persistent vagrancy while attempting to regulate labour and poverty.
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Edward VI
St Stephen's Chapel Assigned to Commons
Westminster
Edward VI grants St Stephen's Chapel for regular Commons use, giving the lower House a permanent chamber within the Palace of Westminster.
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1548 · 2 records
Edward VI
Removal of Images Accelerated
England
Government orders encourage removal of images considered objects of superstition, transforming the visual environment of many parish churches.
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Edward VI
Clerical Marriage Restrictions Relaxed
England
Edwardian reformers move toward recognising clerical marriage, challenging the compulsory celibacy associated with the pre-Reformation priesthood.
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1549 · 5 records
Edward VI
First Act of Uniformity Passed
Westminster
Parliament requires a single authorised English liturgy, establishing nationwide use of the first Book of Common Prayer.
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Edward VI
Prayer Book Use Becomes Compulsory
England
Parishes are required to use the new Book of Common Prayer, replacing diverse Latin rites with a national English service.
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Edward VI
Western Rebel Articles Issued
Devon
The western rebels formulate articles demanding restoration of older religious practices, including traditional forms of worship and clerical customs.
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Edward VI
Clerical Marriage Legalised
Westminster
Parliament removes statutory prohibitions that had prevented priests from marrying, marking a major break with traditional clerical discipline.
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Edward VI
Unlawful Assemblies Act Passed after Rebellions
Westminster
Parliament strengthens penalties for riotous assemblies after the major social and religious rebellions of 1549.
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1550 · 3 records
Edward VI
Peace of Boulogne Concluded
Boulogne
Makes peace with France and Scotland, ending the Rough Wooing and preparing the evacuation of expensive English positions.
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Edward Tudor Edward VI
Treaty of Boulogne
Boulogne
Edward VI's government agrees peace with France, including the return of Boulogne and the withdrawal of English forces from occupied Scottish positions.
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Edward VI
Scottish Marriage Negotiations Renewed
London
Permits renewed discussion of a marriage with Mary, Queen of Scots, even though French influence has already weakened the earlier Greenwich project.
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1551 · 3 records
Edward VI
Old Service Books Ordered Surrendered
England
Edward orders bishops to collect and destroy obsolete Latin service books that might encourage restoration of pre-Reformation worship.
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Edward Tudor Edward VI
Treaty of Norham
Norham
Edward VI's government concludes a formal settlement with Scotland at Norham, closing the war that had begun with Henry VIII's coercive marriage policy.
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Edward VI
French Marriage Treaty
Angers
Approves a dynastic treaty providing for his future marriage to Elisabeth of Valois as part of closer Anglo-French relations.
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1552 · 5 records
Edward VI
Edward's Serious Illness Raises Heir Question
London
Edward suffers a serious illness, reminding the council that the unmarried teenage king has no direct heir and that Mary remains next by statute.
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Edward VI
Second Act of Uniformity Passed
Westminster
Parliament authorises a revised Book of Common Prayer and imposes stronger requirements for conformity to the national liturgy.
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Edward VI
Alehouse Licensing Act Passed
Westminster
Parliament gives local justices authority to license and regulate alehouses as part of wider efforts to control public disorder.
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Edward VI
Edwardian Treason Law Revised Again
Westminster
Parliament revises treason law and evidential rules as Edward's government seeks firmer protection against political challenges.
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Edward VI
Parish Poor Collectors Required
Westminster
Parliament develops organised parish poor relief by requiring local collectors to gather contributions for people unable to support themselves.
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1553 · 9 records
Edward VI
Device for the Succession
Greenwich
As his health worsens, Edward develops a succession plan intended to prevent Mary from inheriting the Crown.
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Edward VI
Succession
Greenwich
Judges are shown Edward's devise for the succession and asked to put his proposed settlement into legal form.
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Edward Tudor Edward VI
Devise for the Succession
London
Edward VI formalises a succession scheme favouring Lady Jane Grey and her male heirs, excluding Mary and Elizabeth from the crown after his death.
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Edward VI
Letters Patent for the Succession
Greenwich
Letters patent embody Edward's succession settlement and place Lady Jane Grey ahead of Mary and Elizabeth.
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Edward VI
Device Expanded to Lady Jane
Greenwich
Edward alters his succession plan so that Lady Jane Grey herself, not merely hypothetical male descendants, can inherit if he dies without issue.
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Edward VI
Forty-Two Articles Authorised
London
The Forty-Two Articles are issued with royal authority, summarising Protestant doctrine shortly before Edward VI's death.
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Edward VI
Death of Edward VI
Greenwich
Edward VI dies at Greenwich Palace aged fifteen after a prolonged pulmonary illness.
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Edward VI
Death of Edward VI
Greenwich
Edward VI dies leaving a disputed Protestant succession
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Edward VI
Burial
Westminster Abbey
Edward VI is buried in Henry VII's Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey using the reformed English service.
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