Edward VI
Edward VI was the son of King Henry VIII and the King of England starting from 1547-1553. An article from JSTOR that I had found about Edward VI is called A Legend Concerning Edward VI by Margaret E. Cornford. The overall theme I had chosen this year is institutions. But, Edward VI was crowned the King of England and Ireland at a very young age. Edward was around ten years old when he was crowned king. But his reign would not last long due to lung failure. Edward unfortunately had discovered he was ill and had passed the same year. Edward VI seemed to be loved by others due to how young he was and also there were many loving and caring people who cared for him. For instance, in the JSTOR article it stated, “He is said to have passed away in the arms of his faithful servant, Sir Edward Sidney, and after repeating a part of his own composition” (Cornford 286). It was known that Edward VI had died from a sickness, but some speculated that perhaps he was poisoned. During the time where Edward had passed, there were many instances where people were poisoned to death. But later, his death was pronounced to have happened due to natural causes.
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| King Edward VI Created in 1550 by William Scrots Housed in Rijksmuseum |
A portrait of Edward VI I had chosen was created by William, Scrots in 1550. The portrait is an image of Edward VI at a young age. Today, this painting of Edward VI is housed in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The painting itself is an oil painting on a panel and 17.5 cm in diameter. In the description of the portrait, it is revealed that Henry’s real name was “Philip II… later [the] King of Spain” (Scrots). Not only was he the King of England and Ireland, Edward was pronounced the King of Spain as well. Edward VI had such a high profile at such a young age. The portrait is full of the color black and the only main color is the color of pale skin. This allows more focus on his face which is significant because you can clearly see he was very young at the time of his reign.
I had wanted to discuss Edward VI due to how young he was when he was pronounced the King. Seeing the portrait of Edward VI and knowing how young he was during his reign was interesting to see. He was only ten years old when he first was pronounced king because his father, Henry VIII, had passed away. It was interesting to learn that both Edward’s parents knew of his illness at such a young age and still allowed him to become the next king. Also after Edward’s death his Lady Mary, who took care of him during that time, had “kept the fact of the king’s death secret from all…” (Cornford). For some time, his death was indeed kept a secret from his people, which surprised me. I was curious if the people were mad at the fact that their ruler was dead and they weren’t able to know until later on. But later on in fact, they had to reveal his death to the people. The theme for this semester that I had chosen was institutions. The theme ties into Edward VI because Edward knew school and religion was important in life. Edward had attended school and also during school he learned more about religion. Henry’s father was very religious, so he too wanted to learn more.
Works Cited
Cornford, Margaret E. “A Legend Concerning Edward VI.” The English Historical Review, vol. 23, no. 90,
1908, pp. 286–290. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/550011. Accessed 26 Apr. 2021.
Schilder: anoniem, et al. Portrait of Edward VI, King of England (Formerly Identified as Philip II at a Young
Age, Later King of Spain) [Portret Van Eduard VI (1537-53), Koning Van Engeland; Philips II (1527-98),
De Latere Koning Van Spanje, Op Jeugdige Leeftijd (Voormalige Titel). JSTOR,
jstor.org/stable/10.2307/community.15668149. Accessed 26 Apr. 2021.
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