Editing Edward VI (section)

== Early life ==
=== Birth ===
[[File:Hans Holbein the Younger - Edward VI as a Child - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Painting of Prince Edward as a baby, depicted with regal splendour and a kingly gesture. He is dressed in red and gold, and a hat with ostrich plume. His face has delicate features, chubby cheeks and a fringe of red-gold hair.|Prince Edward in 1538, by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]]. He holds a golden rattle that resembles a sceptre; and the Latin inscription urges him to equal or surpass his father.{{Sfn|Foister|2006|p=100}}]]

Edward was born on 12 October 1537 in his mother's room inside [[Hampton Court Palace]], in [[Middlesex]].{{Sfn|Loach|1999|p=4}} He was the son of King [[Henry VIII]] by his third wife, [[Jane Seymour]], and 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",<ref>[[Hugh Latimer]], bishop of Worcester, quoted by {{Harvnb|Erickson|1978|p=181}}.</ref> with joy and relief. ''[[Te Deum]]s'' were sung in churches, bonfires lit, and "their<!--{{sic}}--> was shott at the Tower that night above two thousand gonnes".<ref name=Lbapt>{{Harvnb|Loach|1999|pp=5–6}}.</ref> 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 [[Infant baptism|christened]] on 15 October, with his 21-year-old half-sister [[Mary I of England|Lady Mary]] as godmother and his 4-year-old half-sister [[Elizabeth I|Lady Elizabeth]] carrying the [[chrisom]];<ref name="Lbapt"/> the [[Garter King of Arms]] proclaimed him as [[Duke of Cornwall]] and [[Earl of Chester]].{{Sfn|Erickson|1978|p=182}} 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".{{Sfn|Skidmore|2007|p=20}}

=== Upbringing and education ===
[[File:Edward VI of England c. 1546.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Painting of Edward at 9 years. Both the pose of the prince and his dress imitate portraits of Henry VIII. The child wears a broad-shouldered mantle of dark velvet over his clothes which are ornately embroidered in gold thread. He wears a prominent cod-piece and carries a dagger. His short red hair can be seen beneath his cap, contrasting with dark eyes. He looks well and robust.|Edward as [[Prince of Wales]], 1546. He wears the Prince of Wales's feathers and crown on the pendant jewel.<ref>{{Harvnb|Strong|1969|p=92}}; {{Harvnb|Hearn|1995|p=50}}.</ref> Attributed to [[William Scrots]].<br/>[[Royal Collection]], [[Windsor Castle]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/404441/edward-vi-1537-53 |title=Royal Collection Trust |access-date=10 January 2018 |archive-date=7 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307235427/https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/404441/edward-vi-1537-53 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

Edward was a healthy baby who [[suckled]] strongly from 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".<ref name="Loach 1999 p=8">{{Harvnb|Loach|1999|p=8}}.</ref> That September, the Lord Chancellor, [[Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden|Lord Audley]], reported Edward's rapid growth and vigour,<ref name="Loach 1999 p=8"/> 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.<ref>e.g.: {{Harvnb|Elton|1977|p=372}}; {{Harvnb|Loach|1999|p=161}}; {{Harvnb|MacCulloch|2002|p=21}}.</ref> At age four, he fell ill with a life-threatening "[[quartan fever]]",{{Efn|A fever recurring about every four days, today usually associated with [[malaria]].}}{{Sfn|Skidmore|2007|p=27}} but, despite occasional illnesses and poor eyesight, he enjoyed generally good health until the last six months of his life.{{Efn|Edward was also ill in 1550 and "of the measles and the smallpox" in 1552.}}{{Sfn|Skidmore|2007|pp=33, 177, 223–234, 260}}

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 the women".<ref>{{Harvnb|Skidmore|2007|p=22}}; {{Harvnb|Jordan|1968|pp=37–38}}.</ref> The formal royal household established around Edward was, at first, under [[William Sidney (courtier)|William Sidney]], and later [[Richard Page (courtier)|Richard Page]], stepfather of Edward's aunt [[Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset|Anne]] (the wife of [[Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset|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".<ref>{{Harvnb|Skidmore|2007|p=23}}; {{Harvnb|Jordan|1968|pp=38–39}}.</ref> Visitors described the prince, who was lavishly provided with toys and comforts, including his own troupe of [[minstrel]]s, as a contented child.{{Sfn|Loach|1999|pp=9–11}}

From the age of six, Edward began his formal education under [[Richard Cox (bishop)|Richard Cox]] and [[John Cheke]], concentrating, as he recalled himself, on "learning of tongues, of the scripture, of philosophy, and all liberal sciences".<ref>{{Harvnb|Loach|1999|pp=11–12}}; {{Harvnb|Jordan|1968|p=42}}.</ref>{{Efn|For example, he read biblical texts, [[Distichs of Cato|Cato]], [[Aesop's Fables]] and [[Joan Lluís Vives|Vives]]'s ''Satellitium Vivis'', which were written for his sister, Mary.}} 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 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 high intelligence. Edward's religious education is assumed to have favoured the reforming agenda.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jordan|1968|p=40}}; {{Harvnb|MacCulloch|2002|p=8}}.</ref> 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 a [[treatise]] on the pope as [[Antichrist]] and was making informed notes on theological controversies.<ref>{{Harvnb|Loach|1999|pp=13–16}}; {{Harvnb|MacCulloch|2002|pp=26–30}}.</ref> Many aspects of his religion were essentially Catholic in his early years, including the celebration of the [[Mass (liturgy)|mass]] and reverence for images and relics of the saints.<ref name="Skidmore 2007 p=38">{{Harvnb|Skidmore|2007|p=38}}.</ref>

[[File:Badge of Prince Edward 1543.jpg|left|thumb|The [[Prince of Wales's feathers|badge of Prince Edward]], from [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]]'s ''Genethliacon illustrissimi Eaduerdi principis Cambriae'' (1543)]]

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".{{Sfn|Skidmore|2007|p=26}} 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.<ref>{{Harvnb|Skidmore|2007|pp=38–37}}; {{Harvnb|Loach|1999|p=16}}.</ref> 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 the succession with a [[Third Succession Act]], which also provided for a regency council during Edward's minority.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mackie|1952|pp=413–414}}; {{Harvnb|Guy|1988|p=196}}.</ref>{{Efn|Mary and Elizabeth remained technically illegitimate, succeeding to the crown due to Henry's nomination. They could lose their rights, for example by marrying without the consent of the [[Privy Council of England|Privy Council]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Ives|2009|pp=142–143}}; {{Harvnb|Loades|1996|p=231}}.</ref>}} This unaccustomed family harmony may have owed much to the influence of Henry's sixth wife, [[Catherine Parr]],{{Sfn|Starkey|2004|p=720}} 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."{{Sfn|Skidmore|2007|p=34}}

Other children were brought to play with Edward, including the granddaughter of his chamberlain, William Sidney, who in adulthood recalled the prince as "a marvellous sweet child, of very mild and generous condition".{{Sfn|Skidmore|2007|pp=28–29}} 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.{{Sfn|Jordan|1968|p=44}} 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 [[County of Flanders|Flemish]] tapestries, and his clothes, books and cutlery were encrusted with precious jewels and gold.{{Sfn|Skidmore|2007|pp=35–36}} Like his father, Edward was fascinated by military arts, and many of his portraits show him wearing a gold dagger with a jewelled hilt, in imitation of Henry.<ref>{{Harvnb|Skidmore|2007|p=36}}; {{Harvnb|Strong|1969|p=92}}.</ref>{{Efn|Such portraits were modelled on [[Hans Holbein the Younger]]'s depiction of [[Henry VIII]] for a wall-painting at [[Palace of Whitehall|Whitehall]] in 1537, in which Henry confronts the viewer, wearing a dagger. See [[Remigius van Leemput]]'s [[:File:Remigius van Leemput 001.jpg|1667 copy]] of the [[Whitehall Mural|mural]], which was destroyed in a fire in 1698.}} 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.<ref>{{Harvnb|Loach|1999|pp=53–54}} see {{Harvnb|Jordan|1966}} for full text</ref>

=== "The Rough Wooing" ===
[[File:Edward VI, aged 6.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Portrait miniature]] of Edward by an unknown artist,{{Efn|This miniature, formerly attributed to [[Hans Holbein the Younger]] and one of several versions derived from the same pattern, is now thought likely to be by a follower of [[William Scrots]]. The background inscription gives Edward's age as six, but this has been doubted after x-rays of the underpainting.<ref>{{Harvnb|Strong|1969|pp=92–93}}; {{Harvnb|Rowlands|1985|pp=235–236}}.</ref>}} {{Circa|1543}}–1546, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York]]

On 1 July 1543, Henry signed the [[Treaty of Greenwich]] with the [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scots]], sealing the peace with Edward's [[Engagement|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.{{Sfn|Skidmore|2007|p=30}} When the Scots repudiated 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, [[Burning of Edinburgh|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".{{Sfn|Wormald|2001|p=58}} Seymour responded with the most savage campaign ever launched by the English against the Scots.{{Efn|"His detailed reports to his master are a hideous record of fire and bloodshed, chronicled in the most factual and laconic manner."{{Sfn|Wormald|2001|p=59}}}} The war, which continued into Edward's reign, has become known as "the [[Rough Wooing]]".