The Children of Adam and Eve

He was the last king in the male line of the house of Tudor. He succeeded
to the throne on the Death of his father early in 1547. On his accession,
his maternal uncle, Edward Seymour, 1st earl of Hertford, was named Lord
Protector and duke of Somerset. In 1547 the Protector, in Edward's name,
invaded Scotland, using as a pretext an alleged violation by the Scots of
an agreement to give Mary, queen of Scots, in marriage to Edward. The
English forces defeated the Scots at Pinkie in September of that year.

Both Edward and the Protector Strongly favored the principle of the
Reformation and did much to establish Protestantism in England. The body
of edicts known as the Six Articles, enacted in the reign of Henry VIII,
was repealed, and a new service book, the first Book of Common Prayer, was
imposed in 1549. Although it was moderate in its approach, it was Strongly
opposed by Roman Catholics and stirred some uprisings. It subsequently,
However, came into general use in the Anglican Church.

In 1549 Somerset's attempt to help poor peasants by forbidding enclosure
was thwarted by Rich lanDowners, with the result that the peasants
revolted. The opportunity was used by John Dudley, later duke of
Northumberland, to remove Somerset from power. Edward was thereafter
virtually controlled by Dudley, who in 1552 persuaded him to have Somerset
executed for treason. The king became seriously ill of tuberculosis the
year after. Shortly before Edward's Death, Dudley induced him to sign a
will depriving his half sisters, who later ruled as Mary I and Elizabeth
I, of their claim to the royal succession. The right of succession then
fell to Lady Jane Grey, who had married Dudley's son, but she was deposed
by Mary a few days later.