Edward VI 1547-53
Edward VI, Somerset and Northumberland
Background
Although Edward VI’s legitimacy as king was without doubt, as a minor, Edward VI lacked political
experience and could not fulfil his duty as a military commander and hence the chief monarchical
responsibility of defending the realm.
- There was uncertainty and anxiety over how England would be ruled.
Henry VIII’s 1546 will confirmed the 1544 Act of Succession and set out that a Regency Council should
rule on Edward VI’s behalf while he was a minor.
- The Regency Council was theoretically to be balanced between religiously conservatives, such as
Thomas Wriothesley, and reformists, such as Edward Seymour so as to imply that serious
religious change would not be made until Edward VI could govern for himself. -> maintain unity
and stability.
31 Jan 1547 - The executives of Henry VIII’s 1546 will elected Edward Seymour as the Protector of the
Realm—a change formalised on 4 Feb when Edward VII and the executives of the will signed a
commission giving Edward Seymour sovereign authority until Edward VII was 18.
- A Regency Council could not be set up.
- Edward Seymour was made Duke of Somerset and his chief ally, John Dudley, Earl of Warwick.
- Crown land, most of which previously belonged to the Howards attainted by Henry VII, was
distributed amongst the executives of the will.
- Edward Seymour’s plot conferred respectability and legitimacy as his key supporters, such as Sir
William Paget, Henry VIII’s Principal Secretary, and Sir Anthony Denny, a Chief Gentleman of the
Privy Chamber and owner of the Dry Stamp which was used to authenticate royal proclamations,
had worked closely with Henry VIII.
- Edward Seymour also enjoyed a close family relationship to Edward VI which also added to
respectability to his rise to power.
Pros of this seizure of power Cons of this seizure of power
Rule by Protector was a more traditional form of The potential drive towards Protestantism could
rule than by a Regency Council and hence more antagonise Catholics and cause religious instability
easily accepted. which Henry VII’s 1546 will tried to avoid.
Somerset could act as a stronger figure of Led to autocratic rule which aroused the nobility’s
government who could prevent factionalism and discontent.
take responsibility for decisions, enabling more
effective decision making.
Somerset as Protector of the Realm 1547-49
Management of government / Discontent amongst the elite
Somerset governed largely by himself and with members of his own household as he made use of the dry
stamp to issue royal proclamations.
- Issued 77 proclamations in total compared to Henry VIII’s average of 6 per year.
- William Paget criticised Somerset for not listening to the advice of his supporters as he promised in
letters.
Did not attend Council meetings and had his signature retrospectively added to fake his attendance.
Appointed his brother-in-law, Sir Michael Stanhope, as Chief Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to control
access to Edward VI and maintain his authority as Protector of the Realm.
Arrested and removed the Earl of Southampton Thomas Wriothesley, who opposed his takeover of power,
from the Privy Council. -> practice of autocratic rule reflected the weakness of Edward VI as king and
aroused the discontent of the elite.
, Sir Thomas Seymour, who was Somerset’s brother and had married Henry VIII’s wealthy widow Catherine
Parr which conferred significant status, destabilised the government through his ambitious plotting.
- He passed messages and money to Somerset in 1547 in the hope of winning his confidence and
support, wished to marry Elizabth after Catherine Parr’s death and might have considered
kidnapping Somerset.
- Somerset successfully removed the threat Thomas Seymour posed by having Parliament
attaint him and subsequently executing him in March 1549.
Economic policies
Continued debasing the coinage which raised £537,000 while also massively worsened inflation,
exacerbating financial instability as the policy did during Henry VIII’s reign.
Borrowed heavily from continental lenders at high interest rates of generally over 10% to finance the war
in Scotland which he spent a total of £1,356,000 on, putting the royal finances in a precarious situation.
The 1547 Vagrancy Act allowed vagabonds to be brought before a magistrate, branded and enslaved as
one of the most severe of all Tudor statutes against vagabonds.
- Unsuccessfully implemented and was repealed.
Believed enclosures to be the cause of social problems and thus established commissions led by John
Hales to examine them in 1548-49.
- The commissions achieved little apart from antagonising the landed classes and raising the
expectations of commoners that enclosures would be reversed with living standards raised.
Introduced a tax on sheep to raise money and reduce the rate of further enclosures.
- Increased financial pressure on small farmers in areas where pastoral farming was concentrated,
e.g. in Cornwall and Devon, and decreased living standards, causing financial and social
instability.
Arrest of Somerset
Until the Duke of Somerset’s fall in Oct 1549, E VI was a cypher in politics with little influence of his own.
In August 1549, the Earls of Warwick (later Northumberland), Southampton and Arundel and Lord St John
plotted to remove Somerset from office and have him arrested.
- An entry from a contemporary chronicle by Richard Grafton who was a well-informed Protestant in
London reveals the discontent of the elite and commoners towards Somerset’s ambitious
autocratic rule and their belief that Somerset was responsible for the social unrest in 1549 as the
causes for Somerset’s removal from power.
- Somerset’s dictatorial manner created enemies, such as the Earl of Southampton who resented
him for his earlier imprisonment. As the Earl of Warwick who used to be his chief ally at the time of
his rise to power, Somerset’s autocratic rule and policy failures also weakened him in the mind of
his supporters
- Somerset’s inability to maintain law and order:
- Somerset was blamed for England’s struggle in coping with the 1549 rebellions due to the
overstretched war in Scotland caused by his unrealistic policies, the threat of French
invasion, and the increasing divisions between Somerset and councillors and other
influential political figures.
- Somerset’s establishment of a new enclosure commission in 1549 to reverse illegal
enclosures after the starts of the Western Rebellion and Kett’s rebellion encouraged the
rebels in East Anglia who might have believed they were reforming land use against the
local gentry with the government’s support.
- Led council members to consider Somerset as overly friendly to the poor and the
commission as a cause of the uprisings.
