Edward VI (1537-1553) was king of England and Ireland from 1547 until his death. He was the son of King Henry VIII, whom he succeeded. Edward’s mother was Jane Seymour, Henry’s third wife. Edward belonged to the English ruling family known as the House of Tudor.
Edward was only 9 years old when he became king, so his uncle Edward Seymour, who soon became the Duke of Somerset, governed for him. In 1549, the Earl of Warwick, later called the Duke of Northumberland, took Somerset’s place. Edward, Somerset, and Northumberland all wished England to remain Protestant.
When Edward was 15 years old, he became fatally ill with a fever and severe lung infection. Before Edward died, he named his Protestant cousin Lady Jane Grey, who was also Northumberland’s daughter-in-law, as his successor. Edward’s half sister Mary had been next in line for the throne, but she was a devout Roman Catholic. Lady Jane reigned for only nine days before she was dethroned in favor of Mary. Edward VI was born on Oct. 12, 1537, in what is now part of London. He died on July 6, 1553.
