Charlie Fenton’s Reviews > Edward VI: Henry VIII's Overshadowed Son > Status Update

'Not only were they in shock at the death of their young king - but many of the anti-Catholics also mistrusted and disliked Northumberland, and now Jane was associated with him. They did not necessarily need to support the idea of Mary's accession in order to oppose any alternative that stank of Northumberland's plotting, and the fact that Jane was virtually unknown did not help things either.'

'Edward himself questioned the judges about their hesitancy to legalize his will. He contronted them - trail, yet angry - and asserted that Mary would prove a real danger if allowed to succeed him. She would 'provoke great disturbances' and leave 'no stone unturned' to undo the work that he and his religious men had worked so hard to accomplish.'

'[Hooper's] findings in 1551 were dismal, proving to him that only seventy-nine of the three hundred thirty-one clergymen he observed 'were satisfactory from a reformist point of view'. More than half of them did not know the full list of the Lord's Commandments, while two-thirds could not reference passages from scripture in defence of the Creed. Church attendance had decreased significantly'

'Edward appeared entirely devoted to turning his elder sister's heart against her stubborn Catholic faith, even when certain of his council members tentatively questioned how truly harmful it would be to allow her to continue hearing mass within her private home. He was incensed that any of his most trusted men would suggest that he turn a blind eye to idolatry, referring to it as 'the evil thing I will not allow'.'

'Most concerning of all, perhaps, was that within months of Edward's coronation, it was Somerset who signed royal warrants and letters patent on the boy king's behalf. Paget made a clumsy excuse for this when questioned by the French ambassador, claiming that the king was in the process of learning a new signature for himself, as it must change now that he was king.'

'given the 'tedious length' of the ceremony, the Privy Council had decided to abbreviate certain parts, out of fear that it might 'weary and be hurtsome peradventure to the King's Majesty being yet of tender age fully to endure and bid out'. In total, the usually-twelve-hour-long coronation lasted around seven hours, and allowed Edward a few moments of rest.'

'wrote to him saying, 'You have treated me so kindly, like a most loving father ... in which things and gifts is conspicuous your fatherly affection towards me; for, if you did not love me, you would not give me these fine gifts of jewellery.' These heart-wrenching words, written by a child who desperately craved his father's affection, attention, and approval, speak of a prince who evidently idolized the man'

'Reginald Pole, the future Archbishop of Canterbury, claimed that Edward once was in such a rage that he tore a living falcon apart in front of his tutors. Whether or not this story holds any merit is impossible to know, but it might speak to Edward having inherited his father's vicious temper.'

'Far from history's misconception of Edward as a weak, sickly child, the young prince was a playful, happy, perfectly healthy baby who 'sucketh like a child of his puissance', in the words of Cromwell. He was exceptionally well cared for, and apparently very well loved by the women who tended to him. All the while, the king remained a rather absent father - choosing to love his precious son from afar'