Spotlight: Edward VI

Names: Edward Tudor / Edward VI

Titles: Duke of Cornwall / Prince of Wales / King of England, Ireland and France / Supreme Head of the Church of England

Dates: 12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553

Spouse: None

Children: None

Parents: Henry VIII 1491-1547 & Jane Seymour 1507-1537

Siblings: Mary I 1518-1558 & Elizabeth I 1533-1603 (half-siblings)

Noble Connections: Edward’s grandfather, John Seymour, had been knighted by Henry VIII, and his uncles Edward and Thomas became Duke of Somerset and Baron Seymour respectively. One of Edward’s aunts, Elizabeth, became Baroness Cromwell.

Events of their Lifetime: Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr, French campaign at Boulogne, death of Henry VIII, death of his mother Jane Seymour.

Controversy: How legal was Edward VI’s change to Henry VIII’s will? Should Jane Grey really have been Queen over Mary I? How might England have been different?

Works of Fiction:
Chase, Ella March, The Nine Day Queen (2013)
Harper, Karen, The Queen’s Governess (2009)
Lane, Jane, Heirs of Squires Harry (1974)
Purdy, Emily, The Fallen Queen (2013)
Twain, Mark, The Prince and the Pauper (1881)
Weir, Alison, Innocent Traitor (2006)

Portrayals on Screen:
Lyndhurst, Nicholas, The Prince and the Pauper, 1976, 6 episodes
Murtagh, Eoin, The Tudors, 2010, 6 episodes
Saire, Warren, Lady Jane, 1986, directed by Trevor Nunn
Sarson, Philip, The Prince and the Pauper, 1996, 6 episodes
Tester, Desmond, Tudor Rose, 1936, directed by Robert Stevenson
Thompson, Rex, The Prince and the Pauper, 1957, directed by Daniel Petrie

Further Reading:
Alford, Stephen, Kinship and Politics in the Reign of Edward VI (2002)
Beer, B.L., Rebellion and Riot: Popular Disorders in England in the Reign of Edward VI (1982)
Chapman, Hester, The Last Tudor King (1958)
Heard, Nigel, Edward VI and Mary (1990)
Jordan, W.K., Edward VI: the Threshold of Power (1970)
Jordan, W.K., Edward VI: the Young King (1968)
Loach, Jennifer, Edward VI (1999)
Skidmore, Chris, Edward VI: the Lost King of England (2007)
Skidmore, Christopher, Edward VI (2007)
Tytler, P.F., England Under the Reigns of Edward VI and Mary (1839)