Edward VI belonged to the House of Tudor. Born in 1537, he ascended to the throne in 1547 and died in 1553. He was preceded as monarch by Henry VIII and was succeeded by Queen Mary I.
Edward was the son of Henry VIII by Jane Seymour and was born at Hampton Court. Being only nine years old at the time of ascension, a council of regency was formed under his uncle, the Earl of Hertford, later Duke of Somerset. He sympathized with the principles of the Reformation and during his reign Protestantism in England made rapid strides.
Somerset defeated the Scots in 1547 at the Battle of Pinkie and put down an insurrection in Norfolk in 1549. Later that year, however, he was deposed by John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, who became Duke of Northumberland. Dying of tuberculosis at age 16, Edward, on the advice of Northumberland, left the crown to a granddaughter of Henry VIII, Lady Jane Grey, thereby excluding both his sisters.
