Royal authority under Edward VI

How old was Edward when he came to the crown?

9 Years old

Who was Edwards regent?

Edward VIs uncle Edward Seymour

Who did Edwars Seymour become later?

Sommerset

What did Edward Seymour do as regent?

He had already taken control of the government on his behalf

Why was Seymour a good choice as regent?

Despite personal shortcomings, he was the obvious choice because he was the King’s uncle, had a strong military reputation and had been in favour during the last part of Henry’s reign

Why was the transfer easy for Somerset?

The transfer of power was smoothly achieved because Somerset kept the King’s death secret until he had possession of Edward

Who was Edward Seymour related to?

He was the brother of Jane Seymour, his political rise dates from her marriage to Henry VIII in 1536.

What was the state of England at the beginning of Edward IVs reign?

When the king took over, England was religiously divided, nearly bankrupt, suffering from inflation and falling incomes, and had lost valuable land that could have provided steady income for future rulers

Where did these troubles at the start of Edwards reign sem from?

These troubles were caused by:

• The country being divided on religious grounds

• Crown finances being ruined by expensive wars against France and Scotland + to pay for the wars the coinage had been debased, leading to a considerable rise in the rate of inflation and a substantial decline in real incomes for many

• The Crown had compromised its own long-term security by selling off monastic lands, often at a considerable discount, in order to raise money quickly

The Regency council

What were the conditions of the will pertainign to the regency council?

• Henry VIII, in his will, had set up a Regency Council to govern England until Edward was 18

• This comprised 16 members, supported by a further 12 who were required to assist as required

• Decisions of the Council were to be by majority

What was the structure of the intitial regency council?

The initial council had several administrators and lawyers who might have been expected to ensure the interests of good government

Who were intitally represented in the regency council?

The great noble families were under-represented

It was balanced between Protestants such as Hertford, Cranmer and Sir Anthony Denny and religious conservatives such as Thomas Wriothesley, now the Earl of Southampton, and Lord St John (later Marquis of Winchester)

Why did the privy council become unbalanced before Henry died?

Before Henrys death Gardiner’s expulsion from the Council and Norfolk’s arrest unbalanced the Privy Council in favour of the Protestants

The Privy Council was designed to function with a chief executive, and Norfolk's fall from power had left Somerset as the dominant figure

Somersets rise to power

Who was the Regency council given to and why?

The Regency Council did not last long; it promptly delegated its power to Hertford who was appointed Protector (Hertford is Sommerset)

Somerset’s assumption of power was an entirely natural outcome

Henry’s will had allowed for a majority to ‘devise and ordain’ whatever they thought best for government and this led to Somerset becoming Protector

Why was Somerset the best candidate for protector?

Despite personal shortcomings, he was the obvious choice because he was the King’s uncle, had a strong military reputation and had been in favour during the last part of Henry’s reign

Why was th etranfer of power from Henry to Somerset smooth?

The transfer of power was smoothly achieved because Somerset kept the King’s death secret until he had possession of Edward

He already had custody of the will and the dry stamp, and the highly effective William, Lord Paget acted on his behalf.

How did the rulers order the people to keep peace?

The rulers were worried about keeping the peace and preventing rebellion or unrest, especially since the country was politically and religiously unstable

Archbishop Thomas Cranmer (the most senior churchman in England) wrote a homily (a sermon) called On Obedience. It was officially published in 1547 and ordered to be read aloud in churches across the country

• Priests were required, in their sermons, to remind their congregations that obeying the king’s authority was part of God’s will and that disobeying him was a grave sin

What did the homily call for?

The message of the sermon was strongly in favour of obeying the king and the law without question

• It warned people against rebellion.

• It told them that God wanted them to respect and submit to their rulers

Why were the new titles given?

New titles and land grants helped to win over any opposition:

What were the new titles that ere given?

• Edward Seymour himself became Duke of Somerset

• John Dudley became Earl of Warwick

• Thomas Seymour became Lord Seymour

• William Parr became Marquis of Northampton

• Thomas Wriothesley became Earl of Southampton