Edward VI (1537–1553)

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Edward VI (1537–1553)

King of England from 1547 until his death of pneumonia at the age fifteen in 1553. Edward was the son of King Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, but at the time the throne passed to him he was only nine years old. England was ruled by regents, at first the Duke of Somerset and then, from 1549, the Duke of Northumberland. During his brief reign, the Protestant Church of England prevailed over the Catholic Church, expelled from England by Henry VIII. At the time of his death, the Duke of Northumberland promoted the accession of Lady Jane Grey, who was soon deposed from the throne and replaced by the Catholic queen Mary.

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