The third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and the first Sovereign to be raised as a Protestant, Edward VI was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour. In 1547, Edward ascended the throne at the age of nine and since he never reached the age of maturity during his six year reign, the Empire was governed by a Regency Council led by his uncle, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset.
Edward VI’s reign was marked by considerable confusion including economic woes and a lengthy, bloody war with Scotland. Edward—even at his tender age—took considerable interest in religious matters and was integral in establishing reform in the Protestant Church in England.
Soon after, Edward VI became ill and his condition was found to be terminal. Edward’s advisors urged him to name Lady Jane Grey—his cousin—as his heir so that his half sisters, Mary and Elizabeth—would be bypassed in the line of succession. After his death, Jane ruled as Queen for nine days before being overthrown by Mary who quickly undid all of Edward’s Protestant reforms. And, then, of course, we had a whole lot of trouble with Mary and Elizabeth and the Protestants versus the Catholics that we won’t get into at the moment.
The fifth card in the 1935 Silver Jubilee Series by Churchman’s Cigarettes is another one which shows a historical British moment which led to the reign of King George V. Here, we see the moment when, after the death of Henry VIII, the young King Edward VI was taken to The Tower of London for his own protection. Upon his arrival, Edward was greeted with a "great shot of ordnance in all places there about, as well out of the Tower as out of the ships.”
Four days later, the coronation of King Edward VI took place at Westminster Abbey and was the first coronation in England in forty years.
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