Edward VI, 1547-53

Key Events

1547	Edward VI accedes to the throne at the age of nine after the death of his father, Henry VIII.
1547	Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, uncle of Edward VI, is invested as Duke of Somerset and Protector of England.
1547	The English army defeats the Scots at Pinkie Cleugh as part of an attempt to force a marriage between Edward VI and Mary Queen of Scots.
1548	The French send over 6,000 troops to prevent the English from gaining control of the Scottish Borders.
1549	The First Act of Uniformity is passed, making the Roman Catholic mass illegal. The clergy are ordered to remove icons and statues of the saints, and whitewash over wall paintings.
1549	The First Book of Common Prayer is introduced, which changes the Church service from Latin to English.
1550	The Duke of Somerset is deposed as Protector of England, and is replaced by John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, who creates himself Duke of Northumberland.
1552	The Duke of Somerset is executed
1552	Archbishop Cranmer publishes the Second book of Common Prayer.
1553	The Duke of Northumberland persuades Edward to nominate his daughter-in-law Lady Jane Grey as his heir, in an attempt to secure the Protestant succession.
1553	Edward VI dies of tuberculosis at Greenwich Palace.