The Death of Edward VI - 06 July 1553
- thedudleywomen
- 4 days ago
- 7 min read
At around eight o'clock in the evening, on 06 July 1553, after over a year of ill-health, the fifteen-year-old Edward VI took his final breaths, dying at Greenwich Palace, a favoured residence and birthplace of his father, Henry VIII.
Edward's health had first started to decline in April 1552, with the king himself documenting that he had fallen ill with measles and smallpox at this time; the diagnosis of smallpox has been challenged by historians, due to the symptoms described and the lack of distinctive scaring. Whilst initially there appeared to be signs of recovery, Edward's immune system was likely compromised, as by Summer 1552, he appeared 'sickly' and 'exhausted', and was unable to complete his planned Summer Progress. By September 1552, Edward had started to show signs of pulmonary illness, with his physicians suspecting tuberculosis: over the next few months, the king's health deteriorated further with additional symptoms displayed: persistent coughing, fevers and bloating (Weir, 1996).
In April 1553, Edward wrote the first draft of his most infamous document - My Devise for the Succession - in which he set out plans for the English throne after this death. Despite his youth, he was resolved that the crown would not pass to his older half-sister Mary, whom his father had identified as his successor in his will and subsequent acts of parliament. Edward was determined that his successor would share his Protestant views, and continue with the religious reform he had introduced throughout his reign. He was eager to have a male successor, with the document making this clear, with his planned order of succession involved the "heires masles" of the line of his kinswoman Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk. There was one problem with this proposal: there were no male heirs in this bloodline, Frances only having surviving daughters, all of whom were unmarried. In response to this Devise, a series of marriages and betrothals quickly took place, all of which appeared to have the overall aim of keeping John Dudley, 1st Earl of Northumberland and Lord President of the Regency Council at the centre of power. As the eldest daughter of Frances Brandon, fifteen-year-old Jane Grey was the greatest prize, and Northumberland speculated that by marrying her to his sixteen-year-old son Guildford Dudley, he would continue to have influence over the couple, and any prospective children. Their marriage and subsequent celebrations, which took place on 25 May 1553 at the Duke's Westminster residence Durham House, was one of several events the ailing king was unable to attend, due to his poor health (de Lisle, 2008; Tallis, 2016).
[See THE DUDLEY WOMEN post: 'The Durham Place Marriages - 25 May 1553']
By the end of May 1553, the king showed no significant response or improvement to the interventions provided to him by his physicians, and was becoming increasingly weak, almost bed-bound, with contemporary descriptions of 'swelling' to his feet and stomach. Edward's 'violent coughing' appeared to be worsening, impacting on his ability to sleep, which he was said to only achieve when given medication, likely opiates. By this time, Edward was said to be coughing putrid, black sputum, his pulmonary illness having fully taken hold (Skidmore, 2007).
By June 1553, there appeared to be no hope of recovery, and so on 10 June, likely with Northumberland's influence, Edward made his final amendment to his Devise, in which he effectively nominated Jane Grey as his preferred successor: "For lakke of issu of my body...befor my death to L. Jane and her heires masles". Letters patent were subsequently issued on 21 June, with subsequent preparations being made to pass his document through parliament, and ultimately override the line of succession set out in Acts of Parliament passed by his father (Tallis, 2016).
News of Edward's terminal illness soon became well-known, including to those on the continent, with many prematurely predicting his death. In an attempt to appease the gossipmongers, Edward appeared at his window at Greenwich Palace on 01 July, greeting the crowds that had gathered below. However, his appearance caused concern to many, with his "thin and wasted" appearance. On 04 July, Lady Mary Tudor, being fully aware of her younger brother's imminent demise, in fear for her life, ignored summons from Northumberland and the Privy Council, and feigning illness, left the capital and headed north-east: initially to Kenninghall, Norfolk, and then on to Framlingham, Suffolk, where she started to gathered support for her claim to the throne. (Weir, 1996; Skidmore, 2007).
Five days later, between 8 and 9 in the evening, Edward took his final breaths, as he lay dying in his Bedchamber at Greenwich. He was surrounded by his doctors, who continued to attend to him to the end, as well as two Chief Gentleman of the Privy Chamber and close friends Sir Thomas Wroth and Northumberland's son-in-law Sir Henry Sidney. It was with his dying breaths that Edward reportedly said his final prayers, praying to “defend this realm from papistry, and maintain thy true religion”. Sidney then took the dying king in his arms, holding him until his end (Skidmore, 2007).
News of the king's death was quickly dispensed to his chief councillor Northumberland, who along with his allies from the Privy Council, started making the arrangements to move forward with their plans to implement Edward's Device for the Succession: to proclaim Jane Grey as Queen of England, in place of the elder and expectant Mary. Northumberland was not present at Greenwich at the time of Edward's death; it was known that he was in residence at his newly-acquired property Syon House, approximately ten miles west of Westminster. It was from Syon that Northumberland gathered his family members and close allies from their various residences around London and Westminster, before summoning Jane Grey from his house at Chelsea on 09 July. The following ten days, from Jane's acceptance of the throne at Syon, to the proclamation of Mary as queen by a defecting-Privy Council, and subsequent surrender of the Tower of London, had led England to the brink of civil war (de Lisle, 2008; Tallis, 2016),
Following his death, Edward's body and embalmed and placed in a leaden coffin. It was initially kept at Greenwich Palace throughout July before being moved to Whitehall, the events around the country regarding the succession taking precedent over the burial of its last monarch. However, following his sister Mary's successful campaign and subsequent accession to the throne, arrangements were made for his body to be buried. The siblings had come into conflict throughout Edward's lifetime regarding their contrasting religious views, with Mary defiantly and openly continuing to practice Catholicism despite the Protestant beliefs being adopted and religious reform being introduced during his reign. Seeking advice from her councillors, Mary was encouraged to allow her brother to be buried in a Protestant service, despite her personal distain and clear plans to eradicate the recently introduced laws embracing religious reform (Weir, 1996; Skidmore, 2007)
Only five days after Mary's triumphant return to the capital following her proclamation as Queen of England, Edward's funeral was finally held at Westminster Abbey on 08 August 1553. The night before the service, Edward's coffin was taken from Whitehall to the Abbey in a great procession, including singing clerks, children, bedesmen (those who pray for the souls of the deceased) and his own servants, dressed in black. Banners were carried and heraldic shields adorned his hearse, emphasising his Tudor and Seymour ancestry. Edward's coffin was transported by a horse-drawn chariot, decorated in gold cloth, on which lay a life-sized effigy of the king, dressed in regal gown, wearing his crown and holding a sceptre: the symbols of monarchy. The hearse was followed by the king's chief mourner, and representative of the queen William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester and Lord High Treasurer (Weir, 1996; Skidmore, 2007).
The burial service from the 1552-published English Prayer Book was used, the first at the funeral of an English monarch, being presided over by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and one of Edward's godparents. However, simultaneously, Catholic Requiem masses were held for Mary by Stephen Gardiner, the newly reappointed Bishop of Winchester, over three days at the Queen's Chapel within the Tower of London, where Mary was continuing to reside, the new queen refusing to attend a Protestant service. Following the funeral, Edward's coffin was interred in a vault in the favoured Lady Chapel within the abbey, close to that of his paternal grandfather Henry VII (Skidmore, 2007; Westminster Abbey, 2025).
A tomb monument was planned and designed, although not constructed, likely due to lack of space within the chapel. For centuries, Edward's final resting place remained unmarked, until observed by the Dean of Westminster in the 19th century, who noted the Latin coffin-plate inscription:
Edward the sixth by the Grace of God King of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith and on earth under Christ supreme head of the churches of England and Ireland and he migrated from this life on the 6th day of July in the evening at the 8th hour in the year of our Lord 1553 and in the 7th year of his reign and in the 16th year of his age.
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