England and the Holy See during the Reigns of King Edward VI (1547–1553) and Queen Mary I (1553–1558)

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Religious changes started by Henry VIII in 1533 were to have far-reaching consequences in Tudor England. Despite the schism with Rome, the King considered himself a good catholic. Unlike his father, Edward VI was raised and educated by protestant tutors. He was only nine years old when he ascended the throne and under the influence of his uncle Edward Seymour and the archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, the Boy King made radical changes to the English Church. Protestant scholars from Germany and Switzerland, and even Poland came to Oxford and Cambridge to educate the clergy. A religious revolution was on its way. In 1549, Cranmer presented his Book of Common Prayer to the Parliament. Doctrinal changes were confirmed once again in The Forty-Two Articles of Religion and the second edition of the Book of Common Prayer in 1553. Despite these changes confusion and uncertainty remained among the parish priests and King’s subjects. These events triggered a vast wave of rebellions. Nevertheless, at the end of his reign, the last Tudor King made England a Protestant country. In 1553, Mary I Tudor took the English throne. She was a devoted catholic and her main goal as a ruler was to return England to the Catholic Church. To achieve that, she married a future catholic king – Prince Philip II of Spain. With the support of Spain and her ruling council, she revised all heresy laws passed by her father and her brother. Soon after that, she began burning heretics at the stake, starting with Thomas Cranmer. By the end of her reign, almost 300 citizens (most of whom artisans, farmworkers, and other lay people) were burned, died in prison or fled to Germany and Geneva. These actions led to a decline in public support for the Queen. Her subjects were not pleased with the persecutions and many English noblemen did not want to give the Pope all the wealth and lands that they had acquired in the past years. In her short reign, Mary I did not achieve her goals. After the end of her reign she was in conflict with the Pope, her subjects and her supporters.