From Edward VI to the Death of Mary

Historical Note

ACCORDING to the will of Henry VIII, his son Edward was to succeed to the throne, and after him Edward's half-sisters, first Mary, then Elizabeth. Edward (1547-1553) died at the age of sixteen. Before his death he had been persuaded by the Protector, the Duke of Northumberland, that he had as good a right to bequeath the crown as his father had had, and that, in order to continue the Protestant power in the land, he ought to leave it to Lady Jane Grey, great-granddaughter of Henry VII, who was a Protestant and who had married the Protector's son. This Edward did. The result was that for twelve days Lady Jane Grey was queen. Then Mary got possession of her father's throne, and not only Northumberland, but also Lady Jane and her husband, were executed.

Mary, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, was a Catholic, and when she came to the throne, the laws against the power of the Pope in England were repealed, and those for the burning of people whose religious belief differed from that of the sovereign were revived. The whole land was eager that Mary should marry, and especially that she should choose an Englishman for her husband; but she had set her heart upon her cousin, Philip of Spain. She was determined to marry him, and this she did.

To please Philip, Mary took part in a war between Spain and France. In this war she lost Calais, the one possession which England still held in France. "When I die," declared the queen, " 'Calais' will be found written on my heart." Her reign ended in 1558, and Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, ascended the throne.