The Spoiled Son Of Henry VIII Met A CHILLING End

History often portrays Edward VI as the sickly short-lived son of Henry VIII. A young king ascending to the throne too soon, a tragic, pitiable figure, yet the truth is much darker. His death at the age of 15, a death described as horrible, with a body swollen like overripe fruit and painful sores all over his skin, was perhaps a blessing for England. Because Edward, even from a very young age, showed that he wasn't just a frail boy, he proved himself to be almost as twisted as his obese father, perhaps even more extreme than Henry. Today, we will delve into the real story behind this young king. But how did a boy initially hailed as the most beautiful boy ever seen, and called by his father the most precious jewel of this realm, come to such a painful end, and leave behind such a controversial legacy? Let's go back to the beginning. Edward's birth on October 12th, 1537, was the greatest moment of Henry VIII's life. The father, after 28 years of yearning for a male heir, finally had what he desired. Edward was initially described by a chronicler as the most beautiful boy ever seen, a symbol of hope for the Tudor dynasty. Henry VIII spoiled the child immensely, his lesson books bound in gold, studded with jewels, reflecting the extravagance and expectations placed upon the heir. Henry showed his love by calling him the most precious jewel of this realm. However, tragedy quickly struck. Edward's mother, Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife and the only one to bear him a son, died just 12 days after giving birth due to complications. This was a devastating event, leaving Edward VI never knowing his mother's face. Edward grew up motherless and essentially fatherless too. Despite dearly loving his son, Henry VIII sent Edward away almost as soon as the child was born, and spent hardly any time with him in the first few years of his life. The boy was surrounded by women in infancy, under the strict supervision of Lady Margaret Bryan, who also cared for his two half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. Access to Edward was severely restricted, only for the elite no rank lower than a knight, and visitors had to kiss his hand to show reverence. Edward's servants were forbidden from going to London to prevent disease. In these early years, Lady Bryan recorded Edward as a very cheerful, healthy and energetic child. Edward's closest childhood friends included the Duke of Suffolk's sons and two Irishmen. Notably, Barnaby Fitzpatrick remained Edward's most favoured companion throughout his life. Despite growing up without his biological parents, Edward absolutely adored his eldest sister Mary. He wrote letters expressing deep affection for her. For a time, both his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, lived with him at a house in Hertfordshire. These moments were perhaps rare glimpses of family affection in his pressured life. The famous portrait from 1544, often called The Family of Henry VIII, is not just a simple family painting. It is not about love, but about dynastic power. Henry VIII is placed in the centre the greatest. Beside him is the deceased Jane Seymour, appearing as the mother of the heir. Edward is to his father's right, symbolising his place in the Mary and Elizabeth, though previously declared illegitimate, are present because Henry had included them in the line of succession by Act of Parliament. The order of succession is clearly defined. Edward, then Mary, finally Elizabeth. Here, the seeds of more than a decade of trouble and conflict were sown, and a disturbing detail began to emerge even from childhood. Edward had a disturbing fondness for witchcraft. He and Elizabeth had a strange obsession with magic and astrology, and liked to recite spells together. Was this merely childish curiosity, or an early sign of a mind inclined to seek things beyond the ordinary, something that would shape the person he would later become? Edward's life underwent a fundamental change when he turned six, being moved to live with his father to begin a rigorous academic programme at Hampton Court. Tutors believed that a child became a grown-up at six, and his education became a top priority. Edward's curriculum was ambitious and extensive. It followed the model of the new Renaissance humanist education, including languages, scripture, philosophy, and liberal arts. He studied English, Latin, Greek, grammar, philosophy. He read Aesop's fables, works by Dionysius, Cato, Plato, Aristotle, and learned the art of rhetoric through Cicero and Quintilian. Edward's tutors were outstanding scholars. Dr Richard Cox, his first Latin tutor, was a devout Protestant, known for being strict and ready to use the rod to break Edward's stubborn will. Cech, the first Regius professor of Greek, was one of the greatest classical scholars of the time. But perhaps the most important factor in this education process was Edward's fervent embrace of the Protestant faith, just like all his tutors. This new belief wasn't just academic, it deeply permeated his being. Many surviving drafts of Edward's school essays show the profound influence of Protestantism from his tutors and their hatred of the Pope. Edward even wrote essays in French against papal supremacy, a topic he expressed very strongly. Henry VIII had ensured his son was brainwashed into his new faith, solidifying England's break with Rome. The relationship with Henry VIII, though physically distant, became psychologically strange. Henry had Edward's room rebuilt like his own, and replaced Edward's clothes with smaller versions of his. Henry hoped Edward would be like him, and it happened. Edward eventually became almost as deranged as his father. The pressure to become the heir his father craved, combined with strict education and isolation, shaped an intelligent but also potentially unstable boy. So how would this carefully shielded boy, steeped in radical Protestantism and carrying the complex legacy of his father, become the king he was meant to be when the throne unexpectedly became his? Henry VIII died on January 28, 1547, at the age of 55. The cause of death is believed to be complex, including consequences from a jousting accident in 1536, chronic leg ulcers, obesity and perhaps gout. His death marked the end of a tumultuous reign. Edward and Elizabeth both cried upon hearing of their father's death. For Edward, Henry wasn't just a father. He was a colossal figure. From the earliest moments, Edward knew he was the son of a great man, who was introduced as Henry the Great. A portrait of Edward at 18 months old bore the advice, try to be like your father, a reminder etched into him at every stage of his life. Edward, just nine years old, became king. His reign, like his father's, quickly descended into chaos. Due to his extremely young age, Edward's reign was completely dominated by high-ranking figures. Henry VIII had left instructions for a council to rule jointly, but this arrangement collapsed within days as councillors vied for power. Ultimately, Edward Seymour, Edward's uncle, Jane Seymour's brother, emerged victorious. He was granted the title of First Duke of Somerset to signify his preeminence. Seymour was the one Henry VIII had sent to devastate Scotland, with instructions to put all to fire and sword, burn Edinburgh down, leaving forever a perpetual memory of the vengeance of God. After his sister Jane married Henry, Seymour had aimed for power. With his nephew as king, he quickly proved he would do anything to increase his influence. Immediately after Henry's death, Seymour began bribing and became Lord Protector within days. He ruled with an iron fist. However, Seymour created countless enemies. He became arrogant and careless. Most dangerous was betrayal from within his own family. His brother, Thomas Seymour, attempted to bribe King Edward by secretly giving him money, seeking to manipulate the young king. Thomas Seymour also caused scandal by marrying Catherine Parr, Edward's stepmother, and later even intended to marry Princess Elizabeth. Thomas Seymour's audacious plan was to marry Elizabeth, kidnap Edward, and force him to abdicate so he could seize power. The plan was exposed, and Thomas Seymour was caught trying to break into Edward's room and shot the guard's dog. In a shocking move, Edward Seymour had his own brother executed for treason. This event was not only tragic, but severely damaged Somerset's power. Remarkably, Edward recorded the event in his personal chronicle, in his typically matter-of-fact style, showing no emotion. Somerset's regime also faced strong opposition from the people, especially in regions that remained Catholic. Discontent erupted into rebellions across England in the summer of 1549. Kett's Rebellion in Norfolk and the Prayer Book Rebellion in the West were mainly due to religious changes and economic issues. Edward recorded these rebellions in detail in his chronicle, but showed a lack of understanding of the causes or any empathy. He saw them only as military exercises and was particularly thrilled when 900 rebels were massacred. This reveals a cold, callous, and potentially brutal side to the young king. By October 1549, the Privy Council no longer supported Somerset. Somerset fled with Edward, but was eventually arrested on suspicion of a new plot, almost certainly fabricated, and executed on Tower Hill on January 22nd, 1552. Somerset's fall and death are a testament to the brutality of the power struggle around the throne, and they are also a dark stain on the legacy of King Edward VI. After Somerset's fall, power lay with the Privy Council, but John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, later Duke of Northumberland, quickly emerged as the head of government. Dudley is described by some sources as a brutal tyrant. However, Dudley would never hold as much power as Somerset. There were two main reasons. First, the council was unwilling to trust any single individual too much after the experience with Somerset. Second, and more importantly, was the change in Edward himself. Around 1551, as Edward entered his teenage years, he began to develop his own awareness and determination to rule alone. He increasingly stamped his personal mark on the government. There is clear evidence of Edward's disagreements with the council and letters reprimanding officials when they didn't follow his wishes. For example, Edward personally crossed out saintly references in the oath of Bishop John Hooper, showing his firmness on religious matters. As historian Diomede McCulloch chillingly noted, here was a Henry VIII in the making. Edward was beginning to show the strong will, decisiveness, and centralizing tendencies similar to his famous father. This new independence is reflected in portrait of Edward, where he stands confidently, hand on sword hilt. No longer a timid boy, but a king full of potential. Under Dudley, England faced military defeat when the French defeated him in the field. Dudley sought to escape war through a marriage treaty. The peace treaty with France and Scotland in 1550 was considered shameful, as England had withdrawn its forces from both France and Scotland. To formalize the treaty, Edward VI was agreed to marry Princess Elizabeth of Valois. However, this arranged love story was doomed from the start, and ultimately never materialized. The main concern after the war was restoring government finances. Edward, with his sharp intellect, was directly involved in these efforts. Dudley, with Edward's support, implemented many measures, including France paying £180,000 for Boulogne, currency reform, efforts to improve the value of the pound. In the summer of 1552, Edward and his retinue undertook a royal progress along the old road between Salisbury and Wilton. This was his first opportunity to inspect his England, particularly to assess the state of the country he had begun to shape towards Protestantism. During this journey, Edward showed deep interest in managing the country. He directly participated in managing money, expressing distress at the almost bankrupt financial situation due to the previous council's incompetence and corruption. He was anxious and tried to find ways to rescue the national treasury. The royal party travelled down the south coast at Portsmouth. Edward inspected his father's naval military works with a cold, expert eye. He examined South Sea Castle and proposed improvements. At Portsmouth, he was enthusiastic about the harbour, but less so about the two forts, poorly built, outdated, misplaced. He ordered their immediate rebuilding. Edward was a great moderniser. He believed in planning, central control and efficiency. The progress also showed that he was perfectly capable of enjoying himself. Enjoying hunting, fine food, beautiful houses, rural landscapes. A letter sent to his friend Barnaby Fitzpatrick from the trip shows Edward's smugness and a little isolationism. He looked at his country and saw it as good. Unlike the King of France, he was not interested in ravaging the territories of friends or neighbours. He only cared about consolidating and protecting his own country. 1552 marked the beginning of his health decline. In April 1552, Edward contracted measles. He recovered, but the illness had completely destroyed his immune system. Edward was also affected by the outbreak of the sweating sickness in 1551-1552, which caused the deaths of his two closest childhood friends, Henry and Charles Brandon. When the next illness came, Edward's immune system had nothing left to fight. Edward began coughing in February 1553. By March he was visibly weak and thin. By April, the situation worsened. He began vomiting blood and liquids that were black or green. Doctors diagnosed him with purulent lung infection, which was then often called tuberculosis. Despite all efforts, they could do nothing. Initial symptoms were flu-like, leaving Edward in pain for months. In May, Edward seemed to show signs of recovery, bringing a glimmer of hope. But within days, the cough returned, more violent than ever. Edward's body rapidly wasted away. He became swollen like overripe fruit, and painful sores appeared all over his skin. Although his body was severely weakened, Edward VI's mind remained sharp until the last moment. Knowing he was dying, Edward thought of only one thing, ensuring his sisters, especially the Catholic Mary, never ascended the throne. The close relationship with Mary and Elizabeth in childhood had deteriorated as he grew older. Mary being Catholic and likely overturning his Protestant achievements was the clearest reason for Edward to want to exclude her. However, the reason for hating the Protestant Elizabeth is unclear. Perhaps it was because Elizabeth was firm on legal principles and wouldn't simply replace Mary as Edward wished. In his final days, Edward did everything to disinherit his sisters. There is a conspiracy theory that Edward's death was due to poisoning by John Dudley or Mary, who had motives to eliminate him. However, in reality, it is very likely the cause was tuberculosis or a similar illness. Edward knew he was gravely ill, perhaps dying, and desperation fueled his final actions. On July 1st, 1553, Edward made his last public appearance. The sight was utterly horrifying due to his emaciation, sending shivers down the spines of those who witnessed it. The crowd realized that Edward was dying. Amidst the pain and physical decay, Edward was recorded whispering to his closest attendant, I am glad to die. King Edward VI died on July 6th, 1553, just 15 years old. His death was kept secret, even from his sisters, so as not to hinder his and his supporters' plan to protect Protestant England. Edward died in the Protestant faith, and his last words were a prayer in English that he composed himself, a death full of pain and secrecy. But Edward's final act while alive would ignite an unprecedented succession crisis. Would his death be enough to change the course of English history? According to Henry VIII's will, the order of succession was Edward, then Mary, finally Elizabeth. However, Edward, with his desire to protect the achievements of the Reformation and prevent the Catholic Mary from reigning, wanted to exclude both his sisters. Edward drafted my device for the succession. Initially believing women should not rule, he left the crown to the son of his niece, the descendants of his aunt Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII. But realizing he didn't have much time left, Edward revised the plan. From the son of Jane Grey, he changed it to Lady Jane and her male heirs. With three trembling strokes of a pen, the dying boy had made Jane Grey, his aunt's granddaughter, the heir to England. John Dudley exploited Edward's weakness to persuade him to disinherit his sisters. Lady Jane Grey was Dudley's daughter-in-law and he was playing a dangerous game, staking his family's entire future. However, Edward's and Dudley's plan failed. Mary, as the legitimate daughter of Henry VIII, had a much stronger claim to the throne than Jane Grey, who was merely the granddaughter of Henry's sister. With the support of the English people who wanted a true Tudor as their next monarch, Mary quickly gathered thousands of supporters. With this overwhelming support, Mary easily turned the tide. Mary convinced the Privy Council to depose Lady Jane Grey, who reigned for a mere nine days and is known as the Nine-Day Queen. Mary declared herself Queen Mary of England. Jane and her husband were imprisoned in the Tower of London. Jane rotted there for almost a year before Mary, after Wyatt's rebellion in 1554, executed her by beheading in February 1554 to consolidate her throne. Mary also quickly and brutally took revenge on Jane's father-in-law, John Dudley. Dudley was executed and the angry crowd demanded his blood. Despite Edward's last-ditch effort, his succession plan failed miserably. The English wanted a true Tudor as their next monarch. For that, they were prepared for anything, even Edward's worst nightmare, the return of Catholic England under the reign of Mary I. England dodged a major bullet when Edward died so young. Edward was not the innocent tragic figure history might lead one to believe. The truth is much darker. He is described as a spoiled child with a bad temper. He had a malicious temper and showed disturbingly cruel actions from a young age. The most shocking detail is that, in a fit of rage, Edward tore a living falcon into four pieces with his bare hands. This act of violence, recorded in contemporary documents, reveals a frightening dark side to his personality. Edward was very ambitious and he had a clear vision for a new England. If he had survived and implemented his will, that England would have been a truly different place. It would have been a heavily militarized nation with a massive standing army and an efficient network of fortifications. He wanted to centralize the economy, planning markets and industrial investment in a way that was at least a century ahead of Europe. Most importantly, he would create a radical religion, a Puritan religion, that would be strictly enforced, intolerant of any descent, whether Catholic or even more moderate forms of Protestantism. In summary, if Edward had lived and reigned long, he might have created a modern Protestant state more akin to Prussia or Sweden than the current England. An efficient, militarily and economically strong nation, but also extremely authoritarian and religiously intolerant. So how should we remember Edward VI? Let us know in the comments below. Goodbye.