This Week in History...

Tomorrow, October 12th, marks the 475th birthday of Edward VI of England. It is fitting to start off my series of posts about historical events and book reviews with a topic that I am extremely interested in: Tudor history.

The Basic Facts:
As some people might know, Edward VI was the third legitimate child of Henry VIII, and the only son who survived past infancy. He was born to Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife, at Hampton Court in London. Popular opinion seems to dictate that Edward was a weak and sickly child because of his death from tuberculosis at age 16. Reports from various ambassadors at Henry's court show that in fact, despite a spate of illnesses, Edward was no weaker than a normal boy. He ascended to the throne in 1547 at age 10 and was ruled by a Lord Protector for the rest of his reign. The main point of interest in Edward's reign was the changing of the Act of Succession left behind by Henry VIII so that the throne would pass on to Lady Jane Grey, Edward's Protestant cousin, rather than his half-sisters Mary, a Catholic, and Elizabeth. This change was part of a power-play on the part of John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, Edward's protector. After Edward died, the English public rejected his choice of Lady Jane Grey, and raised Mary to power as Queen Mary I.

In My Opinion:
The most interesting thing about Edward VI is that he was the first king to be a firm Protestant. Henry VIII, although renowned as the king who brought about the Protestant Reformation in England, was actually a staunch Catholic in his early life and was given the title "Defender of the Faith" by the Pope for his criticisms of Martin Luther and the Lutherans.  Edward was never raised Catholic, and grew into an incredibly devout Protestant. His Protestantism is interesting, because it shows a striking counterpoint to his two half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. One of his sisters, Mary, was also deeply religious, while Elizabeth was not. Neither Edward nor Mary was nearly as popular during and after their reign as Elizabeth was. I believe that it was in part due to their firm religious beliefs that Edward and Mary were not popular, and that Edward's short and tumultuous reign shows what happens when a monarch is not flexible on issues of religion.