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187-523: John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504 – 22 August 1553) was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death. The son of Edmund Dudley , a minister of Henry VII executed by Henry VIII , John Dudley became the ward of Sir Edward Guildford at

374-404: A coup d'état . By 1 October 1549, Somerset had been alerted that his rule faced a serious threat. He issued a proclamation calling for assistance, took possession of the king's person, and withdrew for safety to the fortified Windsor Castle , where Edward wrote, "Me thinks I am in prison". Meanwhile, a united council published details of Somerset's government mismanagement. They made clear that

561-424: A councillor of Henry VII , and his second wife Elizabeth Grey , daughter of Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Lisle . His father was attainted and executed for high treason in 1510, having been arrested immediately after Henry VIII 's accession because the new king needed scapegoats for his predecessor's unpopular financial policies. In 1512, the seven-year-old John became the ward of Sir Edward Guildford and

748-841: A treatise on the pope as Antichrist and was making informed notes on theological controversies. Many aspects of Edward's religion were essentially Catholic in his early years, including the celebration of the mass and reverence for images and relics of the saints. Both Edward's sisters were attentive to their brother and often visited him—on one occasion, Elizabeth gave him a shirt "of her own working". Edward "took special content" in Mary's company, though he disapproved of her taste for foreign dances; "I love you most", he wrote to her in 1546. In 1543, Henry invited his children to spend Christmas with him, signalling his reconciliation with his daughters, whom he had previously illegitimised and disinherited. The following spring, he restored them to their place in

935-465: A "beggarly king". He also urged the king to throw off the Protector within two years and "bear rule as other kings do"; but Edward, schooled to defer to the council, failed to co-operate. In the spring of 1547, using Edward's support to circumvent Somerset's opposition, Thomas Seymour secretly married Henry VIII's widow Catherine Parr, whose Protestant household included the 11-year-old Lady Jane Grey and

1122-427: A "godly imp". Edward was depicted during his life and afterwards as a new Josiah, the biblical king who destroyed the idols of Baal . He could be priggish in his anti-Catholicism and once asked Catherine Parr to persuade Lady Mary "to attend no longer to foreign dances and merriments which do not become a most Christian princess". Edward's biographer Jennifer Loach cautions, however, against accepting too readily

1309-545: A "worm in the bud". As King Edward's uncle, Thomas Seymour demanded the governorship of the king's person and a greater share of power. Somerset tried to buy his brother off with a barony , an appointment to the Lord Admiralship , and a seat on the Privy Council — but Thomas was bent on scheming for power. He began smuggling pocket money to King Edward, telling him that Somerset held the purse strings too tight, making him

1496-566: A Catholic, reversed Edward's Protestant reforms during her reign, but Elizabeth restored them in 1559. Edward was born on 12 October 1537 in his mother's room inside Hampton Court Palace , in Middlesex . He was the son of King Henry VIII by his third wife, Jane Seymour , and was the only son of Henry VIII to outlive him. Throughout the realm, the people greeted the birth of a male heir, "whom we hungered for so long", with joy and relief. Te Deums were sung in churches, bonfires lit, and "their

1683-544: A European peace by English mediation. These moves were taken seriously by the rival resident ambassadors, but were ended in June 1553 by the belligerents, the continuance of war being more advantageous to them. John Dudley recovered the post of Lord Admiral immediately after the Protector's fall in October 1549, Thomas Seymour having been executed by his brother in March 1549. Dudley passed on

1870-452: A barony, joined Warwick when he realised that a conservative policy would not bring the emperor onto the English side over Boulogne. Southampton prepared a case for executing Somerset, aiming to discredit Warwick through Somerset's statements that he had done all with Warwick's co-operation. As a counter-move, Warwick convinced Parliament to free Somerset, which it did on 14 January 1550. Warwick then had Southampton and his followers purged from

2057-516: A champion of political liberty whose desire "to do good" was thwarted by, in Pollard's phrase, "the subtlest intriguer in English History". As late as 1968/1970, W. K. Jordan embraced this good duke/bad duke dichotomy in a two-volume study of Edward VI's reign. However, he saw the King on the verge of assuming full authority at the beginning of 1553 (with Dudley contemplating retirement) and ascribed

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2244-446: A colossal failure of government, and the council laid the responsibility at the Protector's door. In July 1549, Paget wrote to Somerset: "Every man of the council have misliked your proceedings ... would to God, that, at the first stir you had followed the matter hotly, and caused justice to be ministered in solemn fashion to the terror of others ...". The sequence of events that led to Somerset's removal from power has often been called

2431-414: A compromise, was attacked by traditionalists for dispensing with many cherished rituals of the liturgy, such as the elevation of the bread and wine, while some reformers complained about the retention of too many "popish" elements, including vestiges of sacrificial rites at communion. Many senior Catholic clerics, including Bishops Stephen Gardiner of Winchester and Edmund Bonner of London, also opposed

2618-477: A contented child. From the age of six, Edward began his formal education under Richard Cox and John Cheke , concentrating, as he recalled himself, on "learning of tongues, of the scripture, of philosophy, and all liberal sciences". He received tuition from his sister Elizabeth's tutor, Roger Ascham , and from Jean Belmain , learning French, Spanish and Italian. In addition, he is known to have studied geometry and learned to play musical instruments, including

2805-525: A contingent of armed men without a licence. He was executed on 22 January 1552. While technically lawful, these events contributed much to Northumberland's growing unpopularity. Dudley himself, according to a French eyewitness, confessed before his own end that "nothing had pressed so injuriously upon his conscience as the fraudulent scheme against the Duke of Somerset". Instead of taking the title of Lord Protector, John Dudley set out to rule as primus inter pares ,

2992-576: A deal with some of the executors, who almost all received hand-outs. He is known to have done so with William Paget, private secretary to Henry VIII, and to have secured the support of Sir Anthony Browne of the Privy Chamber. Somerset's appointment was in keeping with historical precedent, and his eligibility for the role was reinforced by his military successes in Scotland and France. In March 1547, he secured letters patent from King Edward granting him

3179-479: A favourite of Henry VIII's daughter, Elizabeth I . Edmund Dudley was the son of Sir John Dudley of Atherington, West Sussex and a grandson of John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley . After studying at Oxford , and at Gray's Inn , Dudley came under the notice of Henry VII, and is said to have been made a Privy Councillor at the early age of 23. In 1492, he helped to negotiate the Peace of Etaples with France and soon assisted

3366-639: A general, became a royal intimate who played cards with the ailing monarch. Next to Edward Seymour, Prince Edward's maternal uncle, Dudley was one of the leaders of the Reformed party at court, and both their wives were among the friends of Anne Askew , the Protestant martyr destroyed by Bishop Stephen Gardiner in July 1546. Dudley and the Queen's brother, William Parr, 1st Earl of Essex , tried to convince Anne Askew to conform to

3553-476: A government-run appointment system, authorising ministers to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments rather than, as before, "to offer sacrifice and celebrate mass both for the living and the dead". After 1551, the Reformation advanced further, with the approval and encouragement of Edward, who began to exert more personal influence in his role as Supreme Head of the church. The new changes were also

3740-496: A local basis, appointing lord-lieutenants who were in close contact with the central authority. Dudley's religious policy was — in accordance with Edward's religion — decidedly Protestant, further enforcing the English Reformation and promoting radical reformers to high Church positions. The 15-year-old King fell ill in early 1553 and excluded his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth , whom he regarded as illegitimate , from

3927-461: A majority of councillors, he encouraged a working council and used it to legitimise his authority. Lacking Somerset's blood-relationship with the king, he added members to the council from his own faction in order to control it. He also added members of his family to the royal household. He saw that to achieve personal dominance, he needed total procedural control of the council. In the words of historian John Guy , "Like Somerset, he became quasi-king;

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4114-532: A meeting with King and Council, in which she was told that what mattered was not her faith but her disobedience to the law, she sent the Imperial ambassador Scheyfve to threaten war on England. The English government could not swallow a war threat from an ambassador who had stepped out of his commission, but at the same time would not risk all-important commercial ties with the Habsburg Netherlands , so an embassy

4301-418: A new law "for the punishment of unlawful assemblies", he built a united front of landholders and Privy Council, the government intervening locally at any sign of unrest. He returned to the ancient practice of granting licences to retain liveried followers and installed lord-lieutenants that represented the central government and were to keep ready small bands of cavalry . These measures proved effective and

4488-434: A novel Poor Law through parliament which provided for weekly parish-based collections for the "relief of the poor". Parishes were to register their needy inhabitants as well as the amounts people agreed to give for them, while unwilling contributors were to be "induced" by the parson and, if need be, by the bishop. The years 1549–1551 saw poor harvests and, accordingly, soaring food prices. Dudley tried to intervene against

4675-497: A prince. At the same time the Council awarded themselves a round of promotions based on Henry VIII's wishes; the Earl of Hertford became the Duke of Somerset and John Dudley was created Earl of Warwick . The new Earl had to pass on his post of Lord Admiral to Somerset's brother, Thomas Seymour , but advanced to Lord Great Chamberlain . Perceived as the most important man next the Protector, he

4862-446: A regency council that would rule collectively, by majority decision, with "like and equal charge". Nevertheless, a few days after Henry's death, on 4 February, the executors chose to invest almost regal power in the Duke of Somerset. Thirteen out of the sixteen (the others being absent) agreed to his appointment as Protector, which they justified as their joint decision "by virtue of the authority" of Henry's will. Somerset may have done

5049-620: A response to criticism from such reformers as John Hooper , Bishop of Gloucester, and the Scot John Knox, who was employed as a minister in Newcastle upon Tyne under the Duke of Northumberland and whose preaching at court prompted the king to oppose kneeling at communion. Cranmer was also influenced by the views of the continental reformer Martin Bucer , who died in England in 1551; by Peter Martyr , who

5236-638: A show of English strength, before returning to the negotiating table. He then travelled to Fontainebleau , where the English delegates were entertained by the Dauphin Henri and King Francis. In the Peace of Camp, the French king acknowledged Henry VIII's title as "Supreme Head of the Church of England and Ireland", a success for both England and her Lord Admiral. John Dudley, popularly fêted and highly regarded by King Henry as

5423-417: A small mercenary contingent and drove the rebels out after fierce street fighting; 49 prisoners he had immediately hanged. Two days later Kett, who had his main camp outside the city, confronted the royal army, resulting in a slaughter of over 2,000 peasants. In the following weeks Dudley conducted courts-martial which executed many rebels, perhaps up to 300. For the enraged and humiliated local gentry this

5610-420: A sort" with Diarmaid MacCulloch in 1999. Dale Hoak concluded in 1980: "given the circumstances which he inherited in 1549, the duke of Northumberland appears to have been one of the most remarkably able governors of any European state during the sixteenth century." Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He

5797-474: A unanimous council which they and observers, such as the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V 's ambassador, expected to reverse Somerset's policy of religious reform. Warwick, on the other hand, pinned his hopes on the king's strong Protestantism and, claiming that Edward was old enough to rule in person, moved himself and his people closer to the king, taking control of the Privy Chamber. Paget, accepting

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5984-575: A watchful eye over the proceedings. Days before, the Duke had intimidated the judges who were raising legal objections to the "devise". The next step was an engagement to perform the King's will after his death, signed in his presence by Northumberland and 23 others. Finally, the King's official "declaration", issued as letters patent , was signed by 102 notables, among them the whole Privy Council, peers, bishops, judges, and London aldermen. Edward also announced to have it passed in parliament in September, and

6171-565: A whetstone to quicken and sharp the Bishop of Canterbury, whereof he hath need". Knox refused to collaborate, but joined fellow reformers in a concerted preaching campaign against covetous men in high places. Cranmer's canon law was finally wrecked by Northumberland's furious intervention during the spring parliament of 1553. On a personal level, though, the Duke was happy to help produce a schoolchildren's catechism in Latin and English. In June 1553 he backed

6358-593: A withdrawal from Scotland. During 1548, England was subject to social unrest. After April 1549, a series of armed revolts broke out, fuelled by various religious and agrarian grievances. The two most serious rebellions, which required major military intervention to put down, were in Devon and Cornwall and in Norfolk . The first sometimes called the Prayer Book Rebellion , arose from the imposition of Protestantism , and

6545-491: A withdrawal of the besieged English garrison at Boulogne. The high costs of the garrison could thus be saved and French payments of redemption of roughly £180,000 were a most welcome cash income. The peace with France was concluded in the Treaty of Boulogne in March 1550. There was both public rejoicing and anger at the time, and some historians have condemned the peace as a shameful surrender of English-held territory. A year later it

6732-446: A world dominated by thinking along sectarian lines. Protestant writers like John Foxe and John Ponet concentrated on the pious King Edward's achievements and reinvented Somerset as the "good Duke"—it followed that there had also to be a "wicked Duke". This interpretation was enhanced by the High and Late Victorian historians, James Anthony Froude and A. F. Pollard , who saw Somerset as

6919-574: The Dissolution of the Monasteries . The most radical preachers thought that bishops, if needed at all, should be "unlorded". This attitude was attractive to Dudley, as it conveniently allowed him to fill up the Exchequer or distribute rewards with Church property. When new bishops were appointed—typically to the sees of deprived conservative incumbents—they often had to surrender substantial land holdings to

7106-871: The Northeast Passage under Hugh Willoughby sailed in May 1553. King Edward watched their departure from his window. Northumberland was at the centre of a "maritime revolution", a policy in which, increasingly, the English Crown sponsored long-distance trade directly. The 15-year-old King fell seriously ill in February 1553. His sister Mary was invited to visit him, the Council doing "duty and obeisance to her as if she had been Queen of England". The King recovered somewhat, and in April Northumberland restored Mary's full title and arms as Princess of England, which she had lost in

7293-657: The Pilgrimage of Grace in late 1536. In January 1537, Dudley was made Vice-Admiral and began to apply himself to naval matters. He was Master of the Horse to Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard , and in 1542 returned to the House of Commons as MP for Staffordshire but was soon promoted to the House of Lords following 12 March 1542, when he became Viscount Lisle after the death of his stepfather Arthur Plantagenet , Henry VIII's uncle, and "by

7480-556: The Thames Valley , Mary's military camp was gathering strength daily and, through luck, came into possession of powerful artillery from the royal navy. In the circumstances the Duke deemed fighting a hopeless campaign. The army proceeded from Cambridge to Bury St Edmunds and retreated again to Cambridge. On 20 July a letter from the Council in London arrived, declaring that they had proclaimed Mary Queen and commanding Northumberland to disband

7667-479: The chrisom ; the Garter King of Arms proclaimed him as Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester . The queen, however, fell ill and died from postnatal complications on 24 October, days after Edward's birth. Henry VIII wrote to Francis I of France that "Divine Providence ... hath mingled my joy with bitterness of the death of her who brought me this happiness". Edward was a healthy baby who suckled strongly from

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7854-480: The land force that destroyed Edinburgh , after he had blown the main gate apart with a culverin . In late 1544 he was appointed Governor of Boulogne , the siege of which had cost the life of his eldest son, Henry. His tasks were to rebuild the fortifications to King Henry's design and to fend off French attacks by sea and land. As Lord Admiral, Dudley was responsible for creating the Council for Marine Causes , which for

8041-445: The lay government's direction of Church affairs made the Duke disliked among clerics, whether Reformed or conservative. His relations with them were never worse than when the crisis of Edward's final illness approached. The war policy 1547–1549 had entailed an extraordinary expenditure of about £350,000 p.a. against a regular Crown income of £150,000 p.a. It was impossible to continue in this way, and Dudley quickly negotiated

8228-486: The lute and the virginals . He collected globes and maps and, according to coinage historian C. E. Challis developed a grasp of monetary affairs that indicated a high intelligence. Edward's religious education is assumed to have favoured the reforming agenda. His religious establishment was probably chosen by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer , a leading reformer. Both Cox and Cheke were "reformed" Catholics or Erasmians and later became Marian exiles . By 1549, Edward had written

8415-581: The "devise" have been described as bizarre and obsessive and as typical of a teenager, while incompatible with the mind and needs of a pragmatical politician. Mary's accession could cost Northumberland his head, but not necessarily so. He tried hard to please her during 1553, and may have shared the general assumption that she would succeed to the Crown as late as early June. Faced with Edward's express royal will and perseverance, John Dudley submitted to his master's wishes—either seeing his chance to retain his power beyond

8602-443: The 12-year-old King personally commanded his uncle's arrest. For a moment there was hope of a conservative restoration in some quarters. However, Dudley and Cranmer secured the Reformed agenda by persuading Edward to appoint additional Reformed-minded members to the Council and Privy Chamber . In December 1549 Southampton tried to regain predominance by charging Dudley with treason, alongside Somerset, for having been an original ally of

8789-461: The 13-year-old Lady Elizabeth. In summer 1548, a pregnant Catherine Parr discovered Thomas Seymour embracing Lady Elizabeth. As a result, Elizabeth was removed from Parr's household and transferred to Sir Anthony Denny's. That September, Parr died shortly after childbirth, and Seymour promptly resumed his attentions to Elizabeth by letter, planning to marry her. Elizabeth was receptive, but, like Edward, unready to agree to anything unless permitted by

8976-454: The 1530s. He also kept her informed about Edward's condition. About this time a set of drawn-out marriage negotiations came to conclusion. On 21 May 1553 Guildford Dudley , Northumberland's second youngest son, married Lady Jane Grey , the fervently Protestant daughter of the Duke of Suffolk and, through her mother Frances Brandon , a grandniece of Henry VIII. Her sister Catherine was matched with

9163-573: The 1544 campaigns in Scotland and France and was one of Henry VIII's intimates in the last years of the reign. He was also a leader of the religious reform party at court. In 1547, Dudley was created Earl of Warwick and, with the Duke of Somerset , England's Lord Protector , distinguished himself in the renewed Scottish war at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh . During the country-wide uprisings of 1549 Dudley put down Kett's Rebellion in Norfolk. Convinced of

9350-529: The 16 shal chose emong themselfes til th'eire come to (18 erased) 14 yeare olde, and then he by ther aduice shal chose them" (1553). Edmund Dudley Edmund Dudley (c. 1462 or 1471/1472  – 17 August 1510) was an English administrator and a financial agent of King Henry VII . He served as a leading member of the Council Learned in the Law , Speaker of the House of Commons and President of

9537-497: The 1970s, critical reassessments of the Duke of Somerset's policies and government style led to acknowledgment that Northumberland revitalised and reformed the Privy Council as a central part of the administration, and that he "took the necessary but unpopular steps to hold the minority regime together". Stability and reconstruction have been made out as the mark of most of his policies; the scale of his motivation ranging from "determined ambition" with G. R. Elton in 1977 to "idealism of

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9724-493: The 20th century, historians have presented the whole gamut of possibilities, "balanc[ing] an articulate puppet against a mature, precocious, and essentially adult king", in the words of Stephen Alford. A special "Counsel for the Estate" was created when Edward was fourteen. He chose the members himself. In the weekly meetings with this council, Edward was "to hear the debating of things of most importance". A major point of contact with

9911-570: The Catholic doctrines of the Henrician Church, yet she replied "it was great shame for them to counsel contrary to their knowledge". In September Dudley struck Gardiner in the face during a full meeting of the council. This was a grave offence, and he was lucky to escape with a month's leave from court in disgrace. In the last weeks of the reign Seymour and Dudley played their parts in Henry's strike against

10098-433: The Council , with the capacity to debar councillors from the body and appoint new ones. He excluded Southampton and other conservatives, but arranged Somerset's release and his return to the Privy Council and Privy Chamber. In June 1550 Dudley's heir John married Somerset's daughter Anne as a mark of reconciliation. Yet Somerset soon attracted political sympathizers and hoped to re-establish his power by removing Dudley from

10285-507: The Crown and were left with a much reduced income. The dire situation of the Crown finances made the Council resort to a further wave of Church expropriation in 1552–1553, targeting chantry lands and Church plate. At the time and since, the break-up and reorganisation of the Prince-Bishopric of Durham has been interpreted as Dudley's attempt to create himself a county palatine of his own. However, as it turned out, Durham's entire revenue

10472-594: The Crown. Appealing to the King's religious tastes, John Dudley became the chief backer of evangelical Protestants among the clergy, promoting several to bishoprics—for example John Hooper and John Ponet . The English Reformation went on apace, despite its widespread unpopularity. The 1552 revised edition of the Book of Common Prayer rejected the doctrine of transubstantiation , and the Forty-two Articles , issued in June 1553, proclaimed justification by faith and denied

10659-445: The Crown. To what extent Edward's document—especially this last change—was influenced by Northumberland, his confidant John Gates , or still other members of the Privy Chamber like Edward's tutor John Cheke or Secretary William Petre , is unclear. Edward fully endorsed it. He personally supervised the copying of his will and twice summoned lawyers to his bedside to give them orders. On the second occasion, 15 June, Northumberland kept

10846-496: The Duke of Northumberland was already in the making when he was still in power, the more after his fall. From the last days of Henry VIII he was to have planned, years in advance, the destruction of both King Edward's Seymour uncles— Lord Thomas and the Protector—as well as Edward himself. He also served as an indispensable scapegoat: It was the most practical thing for Queen Mary to believe that Dudley had been acting all alone and it

11033-402: The Duke of Northumberland were among the chosen. Dudley had a warm if respectful relationship with the teenager, who "loved and feared" him according to Jean Scheyfve , the Imperial ambassador. At a dinner Edward discussed with the envoy at length until Northumberland discreetly indicated to the King that he had said enough. Yet the Duke did not necessarily have his way in all things. In 1552–1553

11220-493: The Duke of Northumberland's policies. The regime also cracked down on widespread embezzlement of government finances, and carried out a thorough review of revenue collection practices, which has been called "one of the more remarkable achievements of Tudor administration". In the matter of religion, the regime of Northumberland followed the same policy as that of Somerset, supporting an increasingly vigorous programme of reform. Although Edward VI's practical influence on government

11407-505: The Emperor broke out once again in September 1551. In due course Northumberland rejected requests for English help from both sides, which in the case of the Empire consisted of a demand for full-scale war based on an Anglo-Imperial treaty of 1542. The Duke pursued a policy of neutrality , a balancing act that made peace between the two great powers attractive. In late 1552, he undertook to bring about

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11594-403: The English throne disagreeable, gave indications of support to Northumberland. Since the Duke did not rule out an armed intervention from Charles V , he came back on the French offer after the King's death, sending a secret and non-committal mission to King Henry II . After Jane's accession in July the ambassadors of both powers were convinced she would prevail, although they were in no doubt that

11781-412: The English victory". The Protector's agrarian policy and proclamations were inspired by a group of intellectuals sometimes called "the commonwealth men". These were highly critical of landlords and left many commoners with the impression that enclosures were unlawful. As one of England's major landowners, Dudley soon feared that this would lead to serious trouble and discreetly tried to warn Somerset. By

11968-435: The King to grow into his authority as smoothly as possible. Disruptive conflicts when Edward took over government could thus be minimised, while Dudley's chances to continue as principal minister would be good. From the age of about 14 Edward's signature on documents no longer needed the council's countersignatures, and the King was regularly debriefed in meetings with a Council of his own choosing—the principal administrators and

12155-452: The King's Council . After the accession of Henry VIII in 1509, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed the next year on a treason charge. While waiting for his execution he wrote The Tree of Commonwealth . Edmund Dudley was both the father of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland , Edward VI 's second Regent as well as the grandfather of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester ,

12342-406: The King's hand can be discerned behind decisions (and omissions) that directly contravened Dudley's wishes. At court, complex networks of influence were at work and Edward listened to more than one voice. Regarding the question to what extent Edward played a role in his own government, Stephen Alford writes: It is possible to endorse Edward's developing grasp of the business of kingship and accept

12529-425: The King's honour. His elevation as Duke of Northumberland came on 11 October 1551 with the Duke of Somerset participating in the ceremony. Five days later Somerset was arrested, while rumours about supposed plots of his circulated. He was accused of having planned a "banquet massacre", in which the council were to be assaulted and Dudley killed. Somerset was acquitted of treason , but convicted of felony for raising

12716-481: The L Fraunces to be (reget altered to) gouuernres. For lakke of her, the her eldest daughters,4 and for lakke of them the L Marget to be gouuernres after as is aforsaid, til sume heire masle be borne, and then the mother of that child to be gouuernres. 6. And if during the rule of the gouuernres ther die 4 of the counsel, then shal she by her letters cal an asseble of the counsel w'in on month folowing and chose 4 more, wherin she shal haue thre uoices. But after her death

12903-443: The L Katerins heires masles, To the L Maries heires masles, To the heires masles of the daughters wich she shal haue hereafter. Then to the L Margets heires masles. For lakke of such issu, To th'eires masles of the L Janes daughters. To th'eires masles of the L Katerins daughters, and so forth til yow come to the L Margets [daughters inserted] heires masles. 2. If after my death theire masle be entred into 18 yere old, then he to have

13090-500: The Privy Chamber and thus the King's surroundings. This was done via his "special friends" (as he called them), Sir John Gates and Lord Thomas Darcy . Dudley also placed his son-in-law Sir Henry Sidney and his brother Sir Andrew Dudley near the King. William Cecil was still in the Duke of Somerset's service when he gradually shifted his loyalty to John Dudley, who made him Secretary of State and thought him "a most faithful servant and by that term most witty [wise] councillor ... as

13277-450: The Privy Council's invitation of Philip Melanchthon to become Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University . But for the King's death, Melanchthon would have come to England—his high travel costs had already been granted by Edward's government. At the heart of Northumberland's problems with the episcopate lay the issue of the Church's wealth, from the confiscation of which the government and its officials had profited ever since

13464-408: The Protector's incompetence, he and other privy councillors forced Somerset out of office in October 1549. Having averted a conservative reaction in religion and a plot to destroy him alongside Somerset, Dudley emerged in early 1550 as de facto regent for the 12-year-old Edward VI. He reconciled himself with Somerset, who nevertheless soon began to intrigue against him and his policies. Somerset

13651-482: The Protector's power came from them, not from Henry VIII's will. On 11 October, the council had Somerset arrested and brought the king to Richmond Palace . Edward summarised the charges against Somerset in his Chronicle : "ambition, vainglory, entering into rash wars in mine youth, negligent looking on Newhaven, enriching himself of my treasure, following his own opinion, and doing all by his own authority, etc." In February 1550, John Dudley, Earl of Warwick , emerged as

13838-445: The Protector, each side issued proclamations accusing the other of treason and declared to act in defence of the King's safety. Somerset tried in vain to raise a popular force and entrenched himself with the King at the fortress Windsor Castle . Military force near King Edward's presence was unthinkable and, apparently, Dudley and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer brokered an unofficial deal with Somerset, who surrendered. To keep appearances,

14025-428: The Protector. The scheme misfired when Dudley invited the council to his house and baffled the plotters by exclaiming, with his hand at his sword and "a warlike visage": "my lord, you seek his [Somerset's] blood and he that seeketh his blood would have mine also". Dudley consolidated his power through institutional manoeuvres and by January 1550 was in effect the new regent. On 2 February 1550 he became Lord President of

14212-465: The Protectorate consisted, apart from crippling Crown debts, of an unprecedentedly debased coinage. On the second day as Lord President of the Council, Dudley began a process to tackle the problems of the mint . He set up a committee that looked into the peculation by the officers of the mint and other institutions. In 1551, the government at the same time tried to yield profit and restore confidence in

14399-459: The Succession 1. For lakke of issu [masle inserted above the line, but afterwards crossed out] of my body [to the issu (masle above the line) cumming of thissu femal, as i have after declared inserted, but crossed out] . To the L Franceses heires masles, [For lakke of erased] [if she have any inserted] such issu [befor my death inserted] to the L' Janes [and her inserted] heires masles, To

14586-462: The Tower and was now Mary's Lord Chancellor . The Duke's execution was planned for 21 August at eight in the morning; however, it was suddenly cancelled. Northumberland was instead escorted to St Peter ad Vincula , where he took the Catholic communion and professed that "the plagues that is upon the realm and upon us now is that we have erred from the faith these sixteen years." A great propaganda coup for

14773-511: The accounts of the two men. Dudley was elected MP for Lewes , in 1491, and knight of the shire for Sussex , in 1495. In 1504, he was chosen as Speaker of the House of Commons . While collecting the king's money, Dudley amassed a great amount of wealth for himself, which resulted in estates in Sussex , Dorset, and Lincolnshire . A 1509 inventory of his house in Candelwykstrete, London , gave

14960-448: The age of four, he fell ill with a life-threatening " quartan fever ", but, despite occasional illnesses and poor eyesight, he enjoyed generally good health until the last six months of his life. Edward was initially placed in the care of Margaret Bryan , "lady mistress" of the prince's household. She was succeeded by Blanche Herbert, Lady Troy . Until the age of six, Edward was brought up, as he put it later in his Chronicle , "among

15147-463: The age of seven. Dudley grew up in Guildford's household together with his future wife, Guildford's daughter Jane , with whom he was to have 13 children. Dudley served as Vice-Admiral and Lord Admiral from 1537 until 1547, during which time he set novel standards of navy organisation and was an innovative commander at sea. He also developed a strong interest in overseas exploration . Dudley took part in

15334-660: The almost monarchical right to appoint members to the Privy Council himself and to consult them only when he wished. In the words of historian Geoffrey Elton, "from that moment his autocratic system was complete". He proceeded to rule largely by proclamation , calling on the Privy Council to do little more than rubber-stamp his decisions. Somerset's takeover of power was smooth and efficient. The imperial ambassador , François van der Delft , reported that he "governs everything absolutely", with Paget operating as his secretary, though he predicted trouble from John Dudley, Viscount Lisle, who had recently been raised to Earl of Warwick in

15521-571: The announcement of the king's death until arrangements had been made for a smooth succession. Seymour and Sir Anthony Browne , the Master of the Horse , rode to collect Edward from Hertford and brought him to Enfield , where Lady Elizabeth was living. He and Elizabeth were then told of their father's death and heard a reading of his will . Lord Chancellor Thomas Wriothesley announced Henry's death to Parliament on 31 January 1547, and general proclamations of Edward's succession were ordered. The new king

15708-408: The army and await events. Dudley did not contemplate resistance. He explained to his fellow-commanders that they had acted on the council's orders all the time and that he did not now wish "to combat the Council's decisions, supposing that they have been moved by good reasons ... and I beg your lordships to do the same." Proclaiming Mary Tudor at the market place, he threw up his cap and "so laughed that

15895-440: The book, but they cannot shut it again. ... I could good people rehearse much more ... but you know I have another thing to do, whereunto I must prepare me, for the time draweth away." ... And after he had thus spoken he kneeled down ... and bowing toward the block he said, I have deserved a thousand deaths, and thereupon he made a cross upon the straw, and kissed it, and laid his head upon the block, and so died. A black legend about

16082-515: The boy's lifetime or out of loyalty. Edward VI died on 6 July 1553. The next morning Northumberland sent his son Robert into Hertfordshire with 300 men to secure the person of Mary Tudor. Aware of her half-brother's condition, the Princess had only days before moved to East Anglia , where she was the greatest landowner. She began to assemble an armed following and sent a letter to the council, demanding to be recognised as queen. It arrived on 10 July,

16269-408: The case. In 1532, he lent his cousin, John Sutton, 3rd Baron Dudley , over £ 7,000 on the security of the baronial estate. Lord Dudley was unable to pay off any of his creditors, so when the mortgage was foreclosed in the late 1530s Sir John Dudley came into possession of Dudley Castle . Dudley was present at Henry VIII's meeting with Francis I of France at Calais in 1532. Another member of

16456-437: The centre of power. Stephen Gardiner was refused access to Henry during his last months. Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk , found himself accused of treason ; the day before the king's death his vast estates were seized, making them available for redistribution, and he spent the whole of Edward's reign in the Tower of London. Other historians have argued that Gardiner's exclusion was based on non-religious matters, that Norfolk

16643-399: The coin by issuing yet further debased coinage and "crying it down" immediately afterwards. The result was panic and confusion and, to get hold of the situation, a coin of 92.3% silver content (against 25% silver content in the last debasement) was issued within months. The bad coin prevailed over the good, however, because people had lost confidence. Northumberland admitted defeat and recruited

16830-408: The common people against a rapacious landowning class. More recently, however, he has often been portrayed as an arrogant and aloof ruler, lacking in political and administrative skills. In contrast, Somerset's successor the Earl of Warwick, made Duke of Northumberland in 1551, was once regarded by historians merely as a grasping schemer who cynically elevated and enriched himself at the expense of

17017-438: The common people backed Mary. Antoine de Noailles wrote of Guildford Dudley as "the new King", while the Emperor instructed his envoys to arrange themselves with the Duke and to discourage Mary from undertaking anything dangerous. Whether altering the succession was Edward's own idea or not, he was determinedly at work to exclude his half-sisters in favour of what he perceived as his jeopardised legacy. The original provisions of

17204-645: The conservative House of Howard , thus clearing the path for a Protestant minority rule. They were seen as the likely leaders of the impending regency —"there are no other nobles of a fit age and ability for the task", Eustache Chapuys , the former Imperial ambassador, commented from his retirement. The 16 executors of Henry VIII's will also embodied the Regency Council that had been appointed to rule collectively during Edward VI's minority. The new Council agreed on making Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford Lord Protector with full powers, which in effect were those of

17391-400: The contempt of both religious camps, popularly hated, and a natural scapegoat, he became the "wicked Duke" — in contrast to his predecessor Somerset, the "good Duke". Only since the 1970s has he also been seen as a Tudor Crown servant: self-serving, inherently loyal to the incumbent monarch, and an able statesman in difficult times. John Dudley was the eldest of three sons of Edmund Dudley ,

17578-426: The council after winning the support of council members in return for titles, and was made Lord President of the Council and great master of the king's household. Although not called a Protector, he was now clearly the head of the government. As Edward was growing up, he was able to understand more and more government business. However, his actual involvement in decisions has long been a matter of debate, and during

17765-486: The council. In January 1549, the council had Thomas Seymour arrested on various charges, including embezzlement at the Bristol mint . King Edward, whom Seymour was accused of planning to marry to Lady Jane Grey, himself testified about the pocket money. Lack of clear evidence for treason ruled out a trial, so Seymour was condemned instead by an act of attainder and beheaded on 20 March 1549. Somerset's only undoubted skill

17952-510: The country was calm for the rest of the reign. In fact, in the summer of 1552—a year before the succession crisis—the cavalry bands were disbanded to save money. John Dudley also strove to alleviate the social situation. The 1547 "Act for the Punishment of Vagabonds", which had enacted that any unemployed man found loitering was to be branded and given to the "presentor" as a slave, was abolished as too harsh in 1550. In 1552, Northumberland pushed

18139-536: The country, not only in Norfolk and the west. The origin of the popular view of Somerset as sympathetic to the rebel cause lies partly in his series of sometimes liberal, often contradictory, proclamations, and partly in the uncoordinated activities of the commissions he sent out in 1548 and 1549 to investigate grievances about loss of tillage, encroachment of large sheep flocks on common land , and similar issues. Somerset's commissions were led by an evangelical MP called John Hales , whose socially liberal rhetoric linked

18326-462: The crown. Since the 1970s, the administrative and economic achievements of his regime have been recognised, and he has been credited with restoring the authority of the royal council and returning the government to an even keel after the disasters of Somerset's protectorate. The Earl of Warwick's rival for leadership of the new regime was Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, whose conservative supporters had allied with Warwick's followers to create

18513-490: The day Jane Grey was proclaimed as queen. The Duke of Northumberland's oration, held before Jane the previous day, did not move her to accept the Crown—her parents' assistance was required for that. Dudley had not prepared for resolute action on Mary's part and needed a week to build up a larger force. He was in a dilemma over who should lead the troops. He was the most experienced general in the kingdom, but he did not want to leave

18700-447: The difference was that he managed the bureaucracy on the pretence that Edward had assumed full sovereignty, whereas Somerset had asserted the right to near-sovereignty as Protector". Warwick's war policies were more pragmatic than Somerset's, and they have earned him criticism for weakness. In 1550, he signed a peace treaty with France that agreed to withdrawal from Boulogne and recalled all English garrisons from Scotland. In 1551, Edward

18887-445: The disastrous state of the kingdom's finances. However, his regime first succumbed to the temptations of a quick profit by further debasing the coinage. The economic disaster that resulted caused Warwick to hand the initiative to the expert Thomas Gresham . By 1552, confidence in the coinage was restored, prices fell and trade at last improved. Though a full economic recovery was not achieved until Elizabeth's reign, its origins lay in

19074-512: The divisive matter of the communion service. Cranmer's formulation of the reformed religion, finally divesting the communion service of any notion of the real presence of God in the bread and the wine, effectively abolished the mass. According to Elton, the publication of Cranmer's revised prayer book in 1552, supported by a second Act of Uniformity , "marked the arrival of the English Church at Protestantism". The prayer book of 1552 remains

19261-448: The earliest reference to window curtains . When Henry VII died in April 1509, Dudley was imprisoned, and charged with the crime of constructive treason . Dudley's nominal crime was that during the last illness of Henry VII he had ordered his friends to assemble in arms in case the king died, but the real reason for his charge was his unpopularity stemming from his financial transactions. He

19448-456: The efficiency of Somerset's takeover of power, in which they detect the organising skills of allies such as Paget, the "master of practices", with the subsequent ineptitude of his rule. By autumn 1549, his costly wars had lost momentum, the crown faced financial ruin, and riots and rebellions had broken out around the country. Until recent decades, Somerset's reputation with historians was high, in view of his many proclamations that appeared to back

19635-572: The entourage was Anne Boleyn , who was soon to be queen. Dudley took part in the christenings of the King's children, Elizabeth and Edward and, in connection with the announcement of the Prince's birth to the Emperor , travelled to Spain via France in October 1537. He sat in the Reformation parliament for Kent , in place of his deceased father-in-law, in 1534–1536, and led one of the contingents sent against

19822-548: The existence of purgatory . Despite these being cherished projects of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer , he was displeased with the way the government handled their issue. By 1552 the relationship between the primate and the Duke was icy. To prevent the Church from becoming independent of the state, Dudley was against Cranmer's reform of canon law . He recruited the Scot John Knox so that he should, in Northumberland's words, "be

20009-540: The financial expert Thomas Gresham . After the first good harvest in four years, by late 1552 the currency was stable, prices for foodstuffs had dropped, and a basis for economic recovery had been laid. A process to centralise the administration of Crown revenue was underway and foreign debt had been eliminated. The use of the Book of Common Prayer became law in 1549. King Edward's half-sister, Mary Tudor , de facto had licence to continue hearing mass in private. So soon as he

20196-472: The first time co-ordinated the various tasks of maintaining the navy functioning and thus made English naval administration the most efficient in Europe. At sea, Dudley's fighting orders were at the forefront of tactical thinking: Squadrons of ships, ordered by size and firepower, were to manoeuvre in formation, using co-ordinated gunfire. These were all new developments in the English navy. In 1545, he directed

20383-576: The fleet's operations before, during, and after the Battle of the Solent and entertained King Henry on the flagship Henri Grace a Dieu . A tragic loss was the sinking of the Mary Rose with 500 men aboard. In 1546 John Dudley went to France for peace negotiations. When he suspected the Admiral of France , Claude d'Annebault , of manoeuvres which might have led to a renewal of hostilities, he suddenly put to sea in

20570-546: The foundation of the Church of England's services. However, Cranmer was unable to implement all these reforms once it became clear in spring 1553 that King Edward, upon whom the whole Reformation in England depended, was dying. After the Rough Wooing and Thomas Seymour's plan to marry him off to Lady Jane Grey, the 13-year-old King was betrothed to the five-year-old Elisabeth of Valois , daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici , in 1550. The marriage alliance

20757-536: The government in the hands of his colleagues, in some of whom he had little confidence. Queen Jane decided the issue by demanding that her father, the Duke of Suffolk, should remain with her and the council. On 14 July Northumberland headed for Cambridge with 1,500 troops and some artillery , having reminded his colleagues of the gravity of the cause, "what chance of variance soever might grow amongst you in my absence". Supported by gentry and nobility in East Anglia and

20944-765: The granddaughter of his chamberlain, William Sidney, who in adulthood recalled the prince as "a marvellous sweet child, of very mild and generous condition". Edward was educated with sons of nobles, "appointed to attend upon him" in what was a form of miniature court. Among these, Barnaby Fitzpatrick , son of an Irish peer, became a close and lasting friend. Edward was more devoted to his schoolwork than his classmates and seems to have outshone them, motivated to do his "duty" and compete with his sister Elizabeth's academic prowess. Edward's surroundings and possessions were regally splendid: his rooms were hung with costly Flemish tapestries, and his clothes, books and cutlery were encrusted with precious jewels and gold. Like his father, Edward

21131-459: The heir of the Earl of Pembroke , and another Katherine , Guildford's younger sister, was promised to Henry Hastings , heir of the Earl of Huntingdon . Within a month the first of these marriages turned out to be highly significant. Although marked by magnificent festivities, at the time they took place the alliances were not seen as politically important, not even by the Imperial ambassador Scheyfye, who

21318-497: The hole rule and gouernauce therof. 3. But if he be under 18, then his mother to be gouuernres til he entre 18 yere old, But to doe nothing w'out th'auise (and agremet inserted) of 6 parcel of a counsel to be pointed by my last will to the nombre of 20. 4. If the mother die befor th'eire entre into 18 the realme to be gouuerned by the cousel Prouided that after he be 14 yere al great matters of importaunce be opened to him. 5. If i died w'out issu, and there were none heire masle, then

21505-413: The hostile populace. A pamphlet appearing shortly after his arrest illustrated the general hatred of him: "the great devil Dudley ruleth, Duke I should have said". He was now commonly thought to have poisoned King Edward while Mary "would have been as glad of her brother's life, as the ragged bear is glad of his death". Dumbfounded by the turn of events, the French ambassador Noailles wrote: "I have witnessed

21692-453: The issue of enclosure with Reformation theology and the notion of a godly commonwealth . Local groups often assumed that the findings of these commissions entitled them to act against offending landlords themselves. King Edward wrote in his Chronicle that the 1549 risings began "because certain commissions were sent down to pluck down enclosures". Whatever the popular view of Somerset, the disastrous events of 1549 were taken as evidence of

21879-425: The king in checking the lawlessness of the barons. He and his colleague Sir Richard Empson were prominent councillors of the Council Learned in the Law , a special tribunal of Henry VII's reign, which collected debts owed to the king, requested bonds as surety, and employed further financial instruments against high-born and wealthy subjects. Henry VII took a strong interest in these procedures and closely supervised

22066-400: The king was the Privy Chamber, and there Edward worked closely with William Cecil and William Petre , the principal secretaries . The king's greatest influence was in matters of religion, where the council followed the strongly Protestant policy that Edward favoured. The Duke of Northumberland's mode of operation was very different from Somerset's. Careful to make sure he always commanded

22253-475: The last minute, which allowed the executors to freely distribute lands and honours to themselves and the court, particularly to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, the new king's uncle who became Lord Protector of the Realm , Governor of the King's Person and Duke of Somerset . Henry VIII's will did not provide for the appointment of a Protector. It entrusted the government of the realm during his son's minority to

22440-463: The leader of the council and, in effect, as Somerset's successor. Although Somerset was released from the Tower and restored to the council, he was executed for felony in January 1552 after scheming to overthrow Dudley's regime. Edward noted his uncle's death in his Chronicle : "the duke of Somerset had his head cut off upon Tower Hill between eight and nine o'clock in the morning". Historians contrast

22627-447: The link between the English Church and Rome but continued to uphold most Catholic doctrine and ceremony. It was during Edward's reign that Protestantism was established for the first time in England with reforms that included the abolition of clerical celibacy and the Mass , and the imposition of compulsory English in church services. In 1553, at age 15, Edward fell ill. When his sickness

22814-523: The malpractices of middlemen by official searches for hidden corn and by fixing maximum prices for grain, meat, and other victuals. However, the set prices were so unrealistic that farmers stopped to sell their produce at the open market and the regulations had to be rescinded. The regime's agrarian policy, while giving landlords much freedom to enclose common land, also distinguished between different forms of enclosure. Landlords guilty of illegal enclosures were increasingly prosecuted. The financial legacy of

23001-499: The most savage campaign ever launched by the English against the Scots. The war, which continued into Edward's reign, has become known as "the Rough Wooing ". The nine-year-old Edward wrote to his father and stepmother on 10 January 1547 from Hertford thanking them for his New Year 's gift of their portraits from life. By 28 January, Henry VIII was dead. Those close to the throne, led by Edward Seymour and William Paget , agreed to delay

23188-434: The most sudden change believable in men, and I believe that God alone worked it." David Loades , biographer of both Queen Mary and John Dudley, concludes that the lack of fighting clouds the fact that this outcome was a close-run affair, and warns to explain Mary's triumph over Jane simply in terms of overwhelming spontaneous support. Northumberland ... was completely unprepared for the crisis which eventually overtook him. He

23375-415: The necessary writs were prepared. It was now common knowledge that Edward was dying. The Imperial ambassador, Scheyfye, had been convinced for years that Dudley was engaged in some "mighty plot" to settle the Crown on his own head. As late as 12 June, though, he still knew nothing specific, despite having inside information about Edward's sickness. France, which found the prospect of the Emperor's cousin on

23562-530: The new government, Dudley's words were officially distributed—especially in the territories of the Emperor Charles V. In the evening the Duke learnt "that I must prepare myself against tomorrow to receive my deadly stroke", as he wrote in a desperate plea to the Earl of Arundel: "O my good lord remember how sweet life is, and how bitter ye contrary." On the scaffold, before 10,000 people, Dudley confessed his guilt but maintained: "And yet this act wherefore I die,

23749-499: The office to Edward, Lord Clinton , in May 1550, yet never lost his keen interest in maritime affairs. Henry VIII had revolutionised the English navy, mainly in military terms. Dudley encouraged English voyages to far-off coasts, ignoring Spanish threats. He even contemplated a raid on Peru with Sebastian Cabot in 1551. Expeditions to Morocco and the Guinea coast in 1551 and 1552 were actually realised. A planned voyage to China via

23936-502: The outset. His father was delighted with him; in May 1538, Henry was observed "dallying with him in his arms ... and so holding him in a window to the sight and great comfort of the people". That September, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Audley , reported Edward's rapid growth and vigour, and other accounts describe him as a tall and merry child. The tradition that Edward VI was a sickly boy has been challenged by more recent historians. At

24123-531: The pageants for a previous boy king, Henry VI . He laughed at a Spanish tightrope walker who "tumbled and played many pretty toys" outside St Paul's Cathedral . At the coronation service, Cranmer affirmed the royal supremacy and called Edward a second Josiah , urging him to continue the reformation of the Church of England , "the tyranny of the Bishops of Rome banished from your subjects, and images removed". After

24310-457: The peace with Edward's betrothal to the seven-month-old Mary, Queen of Scots , granddaughter of Edward's aunt and Henry's sister Margaret Tudor . The Scots were in a weak bargaining position after their defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss in November 1542, and Henry, seeking to unite the two realms, stipulated that Mary be handed over to him to be brought up in England. When the Scots repudiated

24497-594: The pious image of Edward handed down by the reformers, as in John Foxe's influential Acts and Monuments , where a woodcut depicts the young king listening to a sermon by Hugh Latimer . In the early part of his life, Edward conformed to the prevailing Catholic practices, including attendance at mass, but he became convinced, under the influence of Cranmer and the reformers among his tutors and courtiers, that "true" religion should be imposed in England. The English Reformation advanced under pressure from two directions: from

24684-528: The prayer book. Both were imprisoned in the Tower and, along with others, deprived of their sees. In 1549, over 5,500 people died in the Prayer Book Rebellion in Devon and Cornwall. Reformed doctrines were made official, such as justification by faith alone and communion for laity as well as clergy in both kinds , of bread and wine. The Ordinal of 1550 replaced the divine ordination of priests with

24871-430: The project as genuinely Edward's, enforced by Dudley after the King's death. The Duke did not prepare well for this occasion. Having marched to East Anglia to capture Mary, he surrendered on hearing that the Privy Council had changed sides and proclaimed Mary as queen. Convicted of high treason , Northumberland returned to Catholicism and abjured the Protestant faith before his execution on 22 August 1553. Having secured

25058-410: The property of the bishops transferred into lay hands. The religious convictions of both Somerset and Northumberland have proved elusive for historians, who are divided on the sincerity of their Protestantism. There is less doubt, however, about the religious fervour of King Edward, who was said to have read twelve chapters of scripture daily and enjoyed sermons, and was commemorated by John Foxe as

25245-565: The realms through conquest became increasingly unrealistic. The Scots allied with France, who sent reinforcements for the defence of Edinburgh in 1548. The Queen of Scots was moved to France, where she was betrothed to the Dauphin . The cost of maintaining the Protector's massive armies and his permanent garrisons in Scotland also placed an unsustainable burden on the royal finances. A French attack on Boulogne in August 1549 at last forced Somerset to begin

25432-576: The right of his mother". Being now a peer , Dudley became Lord Admiral and a Knight of the Garter in 1543; he was also admitted to the Privy Council . In the aftermath of the Battle of Solway Moss in 1542, he served as Warden of the Scottish Marches , and in the 1544 campaign the English force under Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford , was supported by a fleet which Dudley commanded. Dudley joined

25619-698: The royal court, as a French report stated as late as 1546. In 1525, Dudley married Guildford's daughter Jane , who was four years his junior and his former classmate. The Dudleys belonged to the new evangelical circles of the early 1530s, and their 13 children were educated in Renaissance humanism and science . Sir Edward Guildford died in 1534 without a written will . His only son having predeceased him, Guildford's nephew, John Guildford , asserted that his uncle had intended him to inherit. Dudley and his wife contested this claim. The parties went to court and Dudley, who had secured Thomas Cromwell 's patronage , won

25806-539: The same councillors who had made him Protector were convinced that he had failed to exercise proper authority and was unwilling to listen to good counsel. Dudley still had the troops from the Norfolk campaign at his disposal, and in October 1549 he joined the Earl of Southampton and the Earl of Arundel , prominent religious conservatives, to lead a coup of councillors to oust the Protector from office. They withdrew from court to London, meeting in Dudley's residence. Starting with

25993-525: The scene, "contemplating", as he later admitted, the Lord President's arrest and execution. Relying on his popularity with the masses, he campaigned against and tried to obstruct Dudley's policies. His behaviour increasingly threatened the cohesion vital within a minority regime. In that respect Warwick would take no chances, and he now also aspired to a dukedom. He needed to advertise his power and impress his followers; like his predecessor, he had to represent

26180-407: The second , led by a tradesman called Robert Kett , mainly from the encroachment of landlords on common grazing ground. A complex aspect of the social unrest was that the protesters believed they were acting legitimately against enclosing landlords with the Protector's support, convinced that the landlords were the lawbreakers. The same justification for outbreaks of unrest was voiced throughout

26367-476: The service, Edward presided at a banquet in Westminster Hall , where, he recalled in his Chronicle , he dined with his crown on his head. Henry VIII's will named sixteen executors , who were to act as Edward's council until he reached the age of eighteen. These executors were supplemented by twelve men "of counsail" who would assist the executors when called on. The final state of Henry VIII's will has been

26554-680: The share-out of honours. In fact, in the early weeks of his Protectorate, Somerset was challenged only by the Chancellor, Thomas Wriothesley , whom the Earldom of Southampton had evidently failed to buy off, and by his own brother. Wriothesley, a religious conservative, objected to Somerset's assumption of monarchical power over the council. He then found himself abruptly dismissed from the chancellorship on charges of selling off some of his offices to delegates. Somerset faced less manageable opposition from his younger brother Thomas, who has been described as

26741-498: The still powerful political presence of John Dudley and his colleagues. The structures of ... the ... Council and the royal household began to adapt themselves to the implications of the king's age ... the dynamics of power at the centre were capable of reshaping themselves because the men around the king accepted that, in the circumstances, they should. Dudley set out to restore administrative efficiency and maintain public order to prevent renewed rebellion as seen in 1549. Equipped with

26928-456: The subject of controversy. Some historians suggest that those close to the king manipulated either him or the will itself to ensure a share-out of power to their benefit, both material and religious. In this reading, the composition of the Privy Chamber shifted towards the end of 1546 in favour of the reforming faction . In addition, two leading conservative Privy Councillors were removed from

27115-525: The succession alteration to Edward's resolution, Northumberland playing the part of the loyal and tragic enforcer instead of the original instigator. Many historians have since seen the "devise" as Edward's very own project. Others, while remarking upon the plan's sloppy implementation, have seen Northumberland as behind the scheme, yet in concord with Edward's convictions; the Duke acting out of despair for his own survival, or to rescue political and religious reform and save England from Habsburg domination. Since

27302-469: The succession with a Third Succession Act , which also provided for a regency council during Edward's minority. This unaccustomed family harmony may have owed much to the influence of Henry's sixth wife, Catherine Parr , of whom Edward soon became fond. He called her his "most dear mother" and in September 1546 wrote to her: "I received so many benefits from you that my mind can hardly grasp them." Other children were brought to play with Edward, including

27489-414: The succession", in which he undertook to change the succession, most probably inspired by his father Henry VIII's precedent. He passed over the claims of his half-sisters and, at last, settled the Crown on his first cousin once removed, the 16-year-old Lady Jane Grey, who on 25 May 1553 had married Lord Guilford Dudley , a younger son of the Duke of Northumberland. In the document he writes: My devise for

27676-479: The succession, designating non-existent, hypothetical male heirs. As his death approached, Edward changed his will so that his Protestant cousin Lady Jane Grey , Northumberland's daughter-in-law, could inherit the Crown. To what extent the Duke influenced this scheme is uncertain. The traditional view is that it was Northumberland's plot to maintain his power by placing his family on the throne. Many historians see

27863-400: The summer of 1549 there was widespread unrest or even rebellion all over England. The Marquess of Northampton had been unable to restore order in and around Norwich , so John Dudley was sent to get hold of Kett's Rebellion . Dudley offered Robert Kett a pardon on the condition that the peasant army disband at once. This was rejected and the next night Dudley stormed the rebel-held city with

28050-448: The tears ran down his cheeks for grief." The next morning the Earl of Arundel arrived to arrest him. A week earlier Arundel had assured Northumberland of his wish to spill his blood even at the Duke's feet; now Dudley went down on his knees as soon as he caught sight of him. Northumberland rode through the City of London to the Tower on 25 July, with his guards struggling to protect him against

28237-421: The traditionalists on the one hand and the zealots on the other, who led incidents of iconoclasm (image-smashing) and complained that reform did not go far enough. Cranmer set himself the task of writing a uniform liturgy in English, detailing all weekly and daily services and religious festivals, to be made compulsory in the first Act of Uniformity of 1549 . The Book of Common Prayer of 1549 , intended as

28424-519: The treaty in December 1543 and renewed their alliance with France, Henry was enraged. In April 1544, he ordered Edward's uncle, Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford , to invade Scotland and "put all to fire and sword, burn Edinburgh town , so razed and defaced when you have sacked and gotten what ye can of it, as there may remain forever a perpetual memory of the vengeance of God lightened upon [them] for their falsehood and disloyalty". Seymour responded with

28611-477: The women". The formal royal household established around Edward was, at first, under William Sidney , and later Richard Page , stepfather of Edward's aunt Anne (the wife of Edward Seymour ). Henry demanded exacting standards of security and cleanliness in his son's household, stressing that Edward was "this whole realm's most precious jewel". Visitors described the prince, who was lavishly provided with toys and comforts, including his own troupe of minstrels , as

28798-525: The working atmosphere being more conciliar and less autocratic than under Somerset. The new Lord President of the Council reshuffled some high offices, becoming Grand Master of the Household himself and giving Somerset's former office of Lord Treasurer to William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester . The office of Grand Master entailed supervising the Royal Household , which gave Dudley the means to control

28985-422: Was attainted and made preparations to escape from the Tower of London . He gave up his plan, though, when parliament did not confirm his attainder, which led him to believe that he would be pardoned. However while in prison he declared a will. Dudley and his colleague Empson were executed on 17 August 1510 on Tower Hill . During his imprisonment, Dudley sought to gain the favour of King Henry VIII by writing

29172-517: Was knighted by Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk , during his first major military experience, the 1523 invasion of France. In 1524 Dudley became a Knight of the Body , and from 1534 he was responsible for the King's body armour as Master of the Tower Armoury . Being "the most skilful of his generation, both on foot and on horseback", he excelled in wrestling , archery , and the tournaments of

29359-403: Was agreed that King Edward was to have a French bride, the six-year-old Elisabeth of Valois . The threat of war with Scotland was also neutralised, England giving up some isolated garrisons in exchange. In the peace treaty with Scotland of June 1551, a joint commission, one of the first of its kind in history, was installed to agree upon the exact boundary between the two countries. This matter

29546-492: Was allotted to the two successor bishoprics and the nearby border garrison of Norham Castle . Dudley received the stewardship of the new "King's County Palatine" in the North (worth £50  p.a. ), but there was no further gain for him. Overall, Northumberland's provisions for reorganised dioceses reveal a concern in him that "the preaching of the gospel" should not lack funds. Still, the confiscation of Church property as well as

29733-507: Was already losing his grip upon the situation before the council defected, and that was why they did it. Northumberland was tried on 18 August 1553 in Westminster Hall . The panels of the jury and judges were largely made up of his former colleagues. Dudley hinted that he had acted on the authority of Prince and Council and by warrant of the Great Seal . Answered that the Great Seal of a usurper

29920-440: Was as a soldier, which he had proven on expeditions to Scotland and in the defence of Boulogne-sur-Mer in 1546. From the first, his main interest as Protector was the war against Scotland. After a crushing victory at the Battle of Pinkie in September 1547, he set up a network of garrisons in Scotland, stretching as far north as Dundee . His initial successes, however, were followed by a loss of direction, as his aim of uniting

30107-504: Was betrothed to Elisabeth of Valois , King Henry II 's daughter, and was made a Knight of Saint Michael . Warwick realised that England could no longer support the cost of wars. At home, he took measures to police local unrest. To forestall future rebellions, he kept permanent representatives of the crown in the localities, including lords lieutenant , who commanded military forces and reported back to central government. Working with William Paulet and Walter Mildmay , Warwick tackled

30294-533: Was concluded in August 1552 by French arbitration. Despite the cessation of hostilities, English defences were kept on a high level: nearly £200,000 p.a. were spent on the navy and the garrisons at Calais and on the Scottish border. In his capacity as Warden-General of the Scottish Marches, Northumberland arranged for the building of a new Italianate fortress at Berwick-upon-Tweed . The war between France and

30481-516: Was crowned at Westminster Abbey on Sunday 20 February. The ceremonies were shortened, because of the "tedious length of the same which should weary and be hurtsome peradventure to the King's majesty, being yet of tender age", and also because the Reformation had rendered some of them inappropriate. On the eve of the coronation , Edward progressed on horseback from the Tower to the Palace of Westminster through thronging crowds and pageants, many based on

30668-465: Was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his third wife, Jane Seymour , Edward was the first English monarch to be raised as a Protestant . During his reign, the realm was governed by a regency council because Edward never reached maturity. The council was first led by his uncle Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset (1547–1549), and then by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland (1550–1553). Edward's reign

30855-433: Was discovered to be terminal, he and his council drew up a "Devise for the Succession" to prevent the country's return to Catholicism . Edward named his Protestant first cousin once removed, Lady Jane Grey , as his heir, excluding his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth . This decision was disputed following Edward's death, and Jane was deposed by Mary - the elder of the two half-sisters - nine days after becoming queen. Mary,

31042-562: Was executed on largely fabricated charges, three months after Dudley had been raised to the Dukedom of Northumberland in October 1551. As Lord President of the Council , Dudley headed a distinctly conciliar government and sought to introduce the adolescent King into business. Taking over an almost bankrupt administration, he ended the costly wars with France and Scotland and tackled finances in ways that led to some economic recovery. To prevent further uprisings he introduced countrywide policing on

31229-495: Was fascinated by military arts, and many of his portraits show him wearing a gold dagger with a jewelled hilt, in imitation of Henry. Edward's Chronicle enthusiastically details English military campaigns against Scotland and France, and adventures such as John Dudley 's near capture at Musselburgh in 1547. On 1 July 1543, Henry signed the Treaty of Greenwich with the Scots , sealing

31416-478: Was in a hopeless condition. The king's death and the succession of his Catholic half-sister Mary would jeopardise the English Reformation, and Edward's council and officers had many reasons to fear it. Edward himself opposed Mary's succession, not only on religious grounds but also on those of legitimacy and male inheritance, which also applied to Elizabeth. He composed a draft document, headed "My devise for

31603-461: Was in nobody's interest to doubt it. Further questions were unwelcome, as Charles V's ambassadors found out: "it was thought best not to inquire too closely into what had happened, so as to make no discoveries that might prejudice those [who tried the duke]". By renouncing the Protestantism he had so conspicuously stood for, Northumberland lost every respect and became ineligible for rehabilitation in

31790-452: Was in power, Dudley put pressure on her to stop her from allowing her entire household and flocks of visitors to attend. Mary, who in her turn did not tolerate the Book of Common Prayer in any of her residences, was not prepared to make any concessions. She planned to flee the country but then could not make up her mind in the last minute. Mary denied Edward's personal interest in the issue and entirely blamed John Dudley for her troubles. After

31977-423: Was institutionally Protestant. The confiscation of church property that had begun under Henry VIII resumed under Edward—notably with the dissolution of the chantries —to the great monetary advantage of the crown and the new owners of the seized property. Church reform was therefore as much a political as a religious policy under Edward VI. By the end of his reign, the church had been financially ruined, with much of

32164-419: Was limited, his intense Protestantism made a reforming administration obligatory; his succession was managed by the reforming faction, who continued in power throughout his reign. The man Edward trusted most, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, introduced a series of religious reforms that revolutionised the English church from one that—while rejecting papal supremacy—remained essentially Catholic to one that

32351-440: Was marked by many economic problems and social unrest that in 1549 erupted into riot and rebellion. An expensive war with Scotland , at first successful, ended with military withdrawal from Scotland and Boulogne-sur-Mer in exchange for peace. The transformation of the Church of England into a recognisably Protestant body also occurred under Edward, who took great interest in religious matters. His father, Henry VIII, had severed

32538-437: Was negotiated in secrecy, although Pope Julius III became aware of the plan and threatened to excommunicate both Henry and Elisabeth if the marriage went forward. A dowry of 200,000 écus was agreed to, but was never paid due to Edward's death before marriage. Elisabeth later married his sister Mary's widower, Philip II of Spain . In February 1553, Edward VI became ill, and by June, after several improvements and relapses, he

32725-595: Was not altogether of me (as it is thought) but I was procured and induced thereunto by other[s]. I was I say induced thereunto by other[s], howbeit, God forbid that I should name any man unto you, I will name no man unto you, and therefore I beseech you look not for it. ... And one thing more good people I have to say unto you ... and that is to warn you and exhort you to beware of these seditious preachers, and teachers of new doctrine, which pretend to preach God's word, but in very deed they preach their own fancies, ... they know not today what they would have tomorrow, ... they open

32912-404: Was not noticeably conservative in religion, that conservatives remained on the council, and that the radicalism of such men as Sir Anthony Denny , who controlled the dry stamp that replicated the king's signature, is debatable. Whatever the case, Henry's death was followed by a lavish hand-out of lands and honours to the new power group. The will contained an "unfulfilled gifts" clause, added at

33099-406: Was on friendly terms with Somerset, who soon reopened the war with Scotland. Dudley accompanied him as second-in-command with a taste for personal combat. On one occasion he fought his way out of an ambush and, spear in hand, chased his Scottish counterpart for some 250 yards (230 m), nearly running him through. In the Battle of Pinkie Dudley led the vanguard, being "one of the key architects of

33286-404: Was questionable as a result of Henry VIII's legislation. In the first version of his "devise", written before he knew he was mortally ill, Edward bypassed his half-sisters and provided for the succession of male heirs only. Around the end of May or early June Edward's condition worsened dramatically and he corrected his draft such that Lady Jane Grey herself, not just her putative sons, could inherit

33473-426: Was scarce like in this realm". In this position Cecil was Dudley's trusted right hand, who primed the Privy Council according to the Lord President's wishes. At the same time Cecil had intimate contact with the King because Edward worked closely with the secretaries of state. Dudley organised Edward's political education so that he should take an interest in affairs and at least appear to influence decisions. He wanted

33660-475: Was sent to Brussels and some of Mary's household officers were arrested. On his next visit to the council, Scheyfye was informed by the Earl of Warwick that the King of England had as much authority at 14 as he had at 40—Dudley was alluding to Mary's refusal to accept Edward's demands on grounds of his young age. In the end a silent compromise came into effect: Mary continued to hear mass in a more private manner, while augmenting her landed property by exchanges with

33847-422: Was shott at the Tower that night above two thousand gonnes". Queen Jane, appearing to recover quickly from the birth, sent out personally signed letters announcing the birth of "a Prince, conceived in most lawful matrimony between my Lord the King's Majesty and us". Edward was christened on 15 October, with his 21-year-old half-sister Lady Mary as godmother and his 4-year-old half-sister Lady Elizabeth carrying

34034-422: Was still not enough punishment, so Dudley warned them: "Is there no place for pardon? ... What shall we then do? Shall we hold the plough ourselves, play the carters and labour the ground with our own hands?" The Lord Protector, in his proclamations , appealed to the common people. To his colleagues, whom he hardly consulted, he displayed a distinctly autocratic and "increasingly contemptuous" face. By autumn 1549

34221-523: Was taken into his household. At the same time Edmund Dudley's attainder was lifted and John Dudley was restored "in name and blood". The King was hoping for the good services "which the said John Dudley is likely to do". At about age 15 John Dudley probably went with his guardian to the Pale of Calais to serve there for the next years. He took part in Cardinal Wolsey 's diplomatic voyages of 1521 and 1527, and

34408-408: Was taken to the Tower of London , where he was welcomed with "great shot of ordnance in all places there about, as well out of the Tower as out of the ships". The following day, the nobles of the realm made their obeisance to Edward at the Tower, and Seymour was announced as Protector . Henry VIII was buried at Windsor on 16 February, in the same tomb as Jane Seymour, as he had wished. Edward VI

34595-415: Was teaching at Oxford; and by other foreign theologians. The progress of the Reformation was further speeded by the consecration of more reformers as bishops. In the winter of 1551–52, Cranmer rewrote the Book of Common Prayer in less ambiguous reformist terms, revised canon law and prepared a doctrinal statement, the Forty-two Articles , to clarify the practice of the reformed religion, particularly in

34782-486: Was the most suspicious observer. Often perceived as proof of a conspiracy to bring the Dudley family to the throne, they have also been described as routine matches between aristocrats. At some point during his illness Edward wrote a draft document headed "My devise for the Succession". Due to his ardent Protestantism Edward did not want his Catholic sister Mary to succeed, but he was also preoccupied with male succession and with legitimacy, which in Mary's and Elizabeth's case

34969-402: Was worth nothing, he asked "whether any such persons as were equally culpable of that crime ... might be his judges". After sentence was passed, he begged the Queen's mercy for his five sons, the eldest of whom was condemned with him, the rest waiting for their trials. He also asked to "confess to a learned divine" and was visited by Bishop Stephen Gardiner, who had passed most of Edward's reign in

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