WEBVTT 1 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:25.519 Hello, and Welcome to Western Sieve episode two hundred and eighty nine. Promise 2 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:33.640 unfulfilled, Dudley struck gold early on. In five point fifty one, he 3 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:37.640 was able to reach an agreement with Henry the second, the King of France, 4 00:00:38.520 --> 00:00:43.479 there would be a new French English alliance, and to seal the deal, 5 00:00:44.200 --> 00:00:51.079 King Edward the sixth would marry Henry's daughter Elizabeth. With this alliance firmly 6 00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:57.000 in place, Dudley now felt confident enough to resolve the problem of Mary and 7 00:00:57.039 --> 00:01:04.040 her disobedience. The revival of the Habsburg Valois conflict, the intermittent rivalry, 8 00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:07.799 as we know, between the ruling houses of France and the Empire, which 9 00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:14.599 had torn most of Italy and northern Italy that is asunder, also meant that 10 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:19.280 Emperor Charles the fifth had his hands tied and would be unlikely to come to 11 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:26.480 the rescue of his cousin Mary. The only sticking point was any potential resistance 12 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:32.159 at home. Mary had her supporters, notably, of course, Somerset, 13 00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:38.319 and then the Catholic Earls of Arundel, Derby and Shrewsbury, who voiced their 14 00:01:38.359 --> 00:01:45.959 opposition to her treatment back in the spring. Dudley decided to keep his enemies 15 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:51.400 close, and on August the ninth, Arundell and Derby were drafted onto the 16 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:57.120 Council for one day only for an extraordinary meeting at Richmond, where it was 17 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:02.159 resolved to prohibit the saying of any mass or divine service within Mary's household. 18 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:10.000 Dudley's plan was to prove that he meant business by ensuring that Arundel and Derby 19 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:15.159 signed up for his latest round of attacks on Mary. He forced them to 20 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:21.560 show their hand, leaving them with only choice to rebel or to remain in 21 00:02:21.639 --> 00:02:27.879 silence. On the twenty third of August, three officers of Mary's household, 22 00:02:28.039 --> 00:02:34.120 Rochester, Engelfield and Waldgrave were charged with disobedience and sent to the Tower of 23 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:39.599 London. With the Unified agreement, the Council now turned to Mary. When 24 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:45.439 a deputation led by Lord Rich visited her at the end of August, ordering 25 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:50.840 her chaplain's desist from saying mass in the future. They were welcomed by a 26 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:57.520 defiant and somewhat histrionic performance from Mary, who told them that rather than quote 27 00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:00.560 use any other service, I will lay my I had on a block and 28 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:05.719 suffer death end quote. This is as we know her sort of common refrain, 29 00:03:07.319 --> 00:03:10.639 She blamed the council for her current sickness she was actually ill, and 30 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:17.439 again refused to acknowledge that Edward had any part in her treatment, naively insisting 31 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:23.639 that he was simply too young to understand what was going on. But with 32 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:29.080 the Emperor's support having evaporated, Mary was in no position to call the shots. 33 00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:34.520 She caved in and her protests died down. For the next two years, 34 00:03:35.080 --> 00:03:40.039 her household heard no mass as Mary alone continued to console herself with her 35 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:46.800 own private devotions behind closed doors. There is a chance, of course, 36 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:53.240 that Dudley's attack on Mary was caused purely by the situation abroad, but the 37 00:03:53.280 --> 00:04:01.879 actual reasons are likely far deeper. The reality was Mary was merely the means 38 00:04:02.599 --> 00:04:13.400 by which Dudley wanted to finally and conclusively bring down Somerset. Somerset's position was 39 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:20.040 increasingly becoming untenable. He had taken the opportunity to side with the Princess Princess 40 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:25.879 Mary over religious freedoms that he himself had granted her during his time as protector. 41 00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:31.920 It was probably no coincidence that Somerset's planned attack on Dudley had taken place 42 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:38.879 after Edward's showdown with Mary. Then the Duke had managed to galvanize the members 43 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:45.399 of the conservative nobility, outraged by the princess's treatment into supporting his potential schemes. 44 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:50.000 With Derby's support secured at a meeting on August the ninth, this time, 45 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:56.600 he hoped it would be different, as the attacks on Mary grew increasingly 46 00:04:56.639 --> 00:05:01.439 degrading. Dudley refused, for example, to recognize her royal title as princess, 47 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:09.519 calling her only the King's sister. Somerset made the suggestion that her household 48 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:15.160 be able to hear mass, provoking a furious outburst from Dudley. He retorted, 49 00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:19.879 quote, the mass is either of God or the devil. If it 50 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:23.959 is of God, it is but right that all our people should be allowed 51 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:28.160 to go to it. But if it is not out of God, as 52 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:31.240 we were taught in the scriptures, then why should we not allow the voice 53 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:39.600 of this fury i e. The Mass prescribed to all? According to Edward, 54 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:44.600 the meeting on August the ninth that resolved to take action against Mary had 55 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:49.439 only been agreed to at length. Maybe Somerset had even been reluctant to sign 56 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:57.040 the agreement, Dudley had now pushed Somerset too far. During the end of 57 00:05:57.079 --> 00:06:01.879 August, and after Mary's confrontation with the various lords, Somerset met with the 58 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:08.959 Earl of Arundel to discuss how to finally bring down Dudley. As their plans 59 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:13.040 continued to be set throughout the audience, Dudley realized that he would need to 60 00:06:13.079 --> 00:06:17.560 act fast, particularly given the fact that the Emperor's sister, Mary of Hungary 61 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:25.480 was making disconcerting noises about organizing an invasion to free Edward from the hands of 62 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:31.480 his current counselors. Dudley needed to send out a message both to the remaining 63 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:40.480 Conservatives at home and to Mary's allies abroad that he meant business. Within two 64 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:46.680 weeks, Lord Somerset once more found himself in the Tower of London. The 65 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:53.000 final pieces fell into place in October of fifteen fifty one, when Dudley was 66 00:06:53.079 --> 00:06:59.120 visited by Sir Thomas Palmer, a former associate of Somersets but who had now 67 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:03.720 drawn in close with Dudley. The evidence for their meeting comes entirely from Edward's 68 00:07:03.720 --> 00:07:09.920 diary, but it seems that Palmer divulged to Dudley. How Somerset had planned 69 00:07:09.959 --> 00:07:15.839 to quote raise the people end quote. A banquet had been planned at which 70 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:21.120 Dudley and Northampton were to be assassinated, the method of execution being to simply 71 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:27.399 cut off their heads, a red wedding of sorts, I suppose. Four 72 00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:31.480 days later, Palmer had further confessed that Somerset's follower, Sir Ralph Vane, 73 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:40.399 had two thousand men prepared to act. Another supporter, Miles Patridge, was 74 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:46.480 to raise London with the hope of certain apprentices seizing the Great Seal and then 75 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:53.560 the Tower of London. Alexander Seymour, a distant relative of Somerset's, and 76 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:58.519 Lawrence Hammond, possibly a yeoman of the Guard were not sure, were to 77 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:03.279 ensure that all all the horses were to be slain to prevent an escape. 78 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:09.040 Whether Palmer's accusations were true or false remains to be seen, but for the 79 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:13.560 moment, it gave Dudley all the evidence that he needed to destroy his greatest 80 00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:20.120 enemy once and for all. But first Dudley needed to bolster his support. 81 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:26.279 He did this with the creation of new peerages, essentially new titles of nobility, 82 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:31.279 the same tactic he had used before in the winter of fifteen forty nine, 83 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:35.919 when he planned to destroy Risley in an age of ruthless ambition, It 84 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:43.720 turned out loyalty could be easily bought. Henry Gray suddenly became Duke of Suffolk. 85 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:50.480 William Pollett was promoted to the Marquess of Winchester. William Herbert, having 86 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:54.360 been created Lord Herbert the previous day, now found himself in just forty eight 87 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:58.679 hours, going from nobody to an earldom, the Earl of Pembroke. No 88 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:05.360 less, Dudley awarded himself a dukedom I guess for fun, becoming the Duke 89 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:11.039 of Northumberland. In one sense. The giving of titles, in fact merely 90 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:18.039 reflected the existing political situation of Dudley's now Northumberland's dominance. He was now undoubtedly 91 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:24.600 the most important noblemen of the land, holding three of the five most important 92 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:33.240 offices of state. By mid October, it was clear that Somerset's days were 93 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:39.200 numbered. On October the fifteenth, the power of Lord Northumberland, and I'm 94 00:09:39.240 --> 00:09:43.960 going to refer to Dudley as Northumberland from now on, moved against Somerset's remaining 95 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:50.080 allies. King Edward recorded the following events in his diary, quote this morning 96 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:54.399 none was at Westminster. Of the conspirators the verse was the Duke, who 97 00:09:54.440 --> 00:10:01.120 came later than he was wont of himself. After dinner, he Somerset was 98 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:05.480 apprehended. Sir Thomas Palmer was taken on the terrace. Walking there, Hammond, 99 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:11.200 passing by the Vice Chamberlain's door, was called in by John Peers to 100 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:15.799 make a match at shooting, and so he was taken. Newgate was called 101 00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:20.039 for from my Lord his master, and he was taken. Likewise were John 102 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:26.320 Seymour and Dave Seymour. Sir Thomas Arundel was also taken, and Lord Gray, 103 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:31.159 coming out of the country. Vain, upon sendings of my Lord, 104 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:35.120 was not so stout, and if he could not get a comb, he 105 00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:39.360 cared for none of them. All. He was discovered hiding beneath the straw 106 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:43.559 of his stable at Lambeth. These all went with the Duke Somerset to the 107 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:48.799 tower, saving Palmer, Arundel, and Vain, who were kept in chambers 108 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:56.960 here apart end quote. And so just like that all of Somerset's allies found 109 00:10:56.000 --> 00:11:03.159 themselves locked in the Tower of London. This matters because just a few days 110 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:09.679 prior, on October the twelfth, fifteen fifty one, Edward turned fourteen. 111 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:15.279 This was the age when many kings achieved the age of majority and took the 112 00:11:15.279 --> 00:11:20.879 reins of power for themselves. Edward was already deeply engaged in the administration of 113 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:26.200 the realm. While his father may have been bored with the minushev state. 114 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:33.080 Edward was not throwing himself into whatever tasks he might have been assigned had he 115 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:35.600 lived a spoiler alert, he's not going to which you could probably tell by 116 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:41.320 the title of this episode, he might have made an excellent king. On 117 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:45.519 October the twenty second, members of the Privy Council announced they had gotten to 118 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:50.960 the bottom of Somerset's various plots. Evidently the wicked Duke had intended to capture 119 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:56.519 the Tower of London, burned down the Capitol, and then sail away. 120 00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:01.279 That made no sense at all. Hardly anybody believe the accusations. You may 121 00:12:01.320 --> 00:12:05.120 as well have accused him of intending to kidnap the Pope and burn Rome to 122 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:11.240 the ground. Still, what few allies Somerset had remaining began to melt away, 123 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:16.159 whether out of fear or simply a conviction that they were backing the wrong 124 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:22.240 horse. It was only a matter of time now before Somerset himself would be 125 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:28.200 accused of treason. Indeed, the clock was ticking rather quickly, for on 126 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:35.519 November the sixteenth, charges of treason were already drawn up. On the night 127 00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:39.960 of November thirtieth, fifteen fifty one, Somerset was informed that his trial would 128 00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:43.360 begin the following morning. Stripped of his Order of the Garter, he remained 129 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:48.399 defiant, declaring he wouldn't confess a thing. The next day, security remained 130 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:54.159 tight. Armed officers with their swords visible but not drawn, were placed in 131 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:58.399 strategic positions, while that night a double watch was kept, with every householder 132 00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:03.200 ordered to quote, see to his family and keep his house end quote to 133 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:09.240 prevent a large crowd gathering. Somerset was brought from the tower to Westminster by 134 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:13.279 a boat at five in the morning. Despite this, two men drowned in 135 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:16.960 the Thames as they sought to catch a glimpse of the Duke as he passed 136 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:22.000 on our London Bridge. The trial lasted from eight in the morning until three 137 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:28.600 in the afternoon. The charges were laid out. Quote Edward, Duke of 138 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:33.600 Somerset, did on the twentieth of April at his mansion house called Somerset place 139 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:37.720 in the strand compass and imagine with other persons to deprive the King of his 140 00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:43.559 royal dignity and to seize the King's person, that at his the Duke's will 141 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:48.240 and pleasure, exercise royal authority. That the Duke, in order to carry 142 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:54.919 out his traitorous intentions into effect, together with Michael Stanhope, Miles Patridge, 143 00:13:56.240 --> 00:14:03.240 Thomas Holcroft, Francis Newtgate another persons assembled for the purpose of taking and imprisoning 144 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:09.159 John now Duke of Northumberland. Furthermore, that the said Duke of Somerset compassed 145 00:14:09.159 --> 00:14:13.960 to obtain possession of the Great Seal, and also to obtain possession of the 146 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:20.120 Tower of London and of the treasure, jewels and munitions of war therein contained. 147 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:24.279 And furthermore that the said Duke, of his own authority, incited the 148 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:30.919 citizens and inhabitants of London to rebellion an insurrection against the King, with drums 149 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:35.960 and trumpets crying out English liberty, liberty, and for the purpose of robbing 150 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:41.840 and destroying such other citizens and inhabitants as would not follow his will. Somerset, 151 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:46.919 though remained defiant, he still had some support, and he knew it. 152 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:50.320 Moreover, he knew that the charges, or at least the bulk of 153 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:58.120 the charges, were false. Crowds gathered outside Westminster, chanting God save the 154 00:14:58.200 --> 00:15:03.879 Duke, so his belief that he had significant support remaining in London was true. 155 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:07.240 Moments later, the crowd erupted into applause, went low and behold. 156 00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:15.840 Somerset had been found innocent of the trees and charges. Yet the adelation was 157 00:15:15.879 --> 00:15:22.440 premature, the sentencing was not quite finished. Somerset, found innocent of treason, 158 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:26.159 had nonetheless been found guilty of committing a felony, in this case, 159 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:33.759 orchestrating an unlawful assembly. For that crime, he was sentenced to death by 160 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:39.240 hanging. The Duke fell to his knees in shock. In the end, 161 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:43.440 there was little other that he could do than to beg Northumberland to look after 162 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:50.200 his wife and children. Northumberland agreed, and later would write privately that he 163 00:15:50.279 --> 00:15:54.679 regretted his role in the whole affair. Now, of course, all of 164 00:15:54.679 --> 00:16:00.399 this signores that there definitely was a real conspiracy. In April of fifteen fifty 165 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:04.960 one, Somerset himself had admitted a plot to marry Edward to his daughter, 166 00:16:06.039 --> 00:16:11.159 and thus reinstall himself as Lord Protector. Whether there was enough evidence to convict 167 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:17.320 him or not, the English lords determined Somerset was simply too dangerous to be 168 00:16:17.399 --> 00:16:22.360 left alive. What Northumberland did not expect was the negative reaction to the news 169 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:27.360 of Somerset's sentence. It didn't help that there were plenty of rumors flying around 170 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:33.360 the country that now Northumberland wanted one hundred percent control of the government for himself, 171 00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:40.360 compounded by news that King Edward physically was not well. At eight o'clock 172 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:44.279 in the morning on the twenty second of January fifteen fifty two, Somerset was 173 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:48.480 brought out of the tower, surrounded by an entourage of armed guard. He 174 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:53.720 was led to Tower Hill. Despite Northumberland's attempts to prevent an audience from being 175 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:59.519 present by moving the time of the execution three hours ahead, a huge crowd 176 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:03.720 had already go athered. Some still held out hope that the King's pardon might 177 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:07.960 grant the ducal ass reprieve, Others to pay their respects to a man that 178 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:12.160 they considered to be their hero. When he had reached the scaffold, some 179 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:18.400 are set nent down on both knees, raising his hands he commended himself to 180 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:22.920 God. A nobleman nearby recognized the gesture as one that he had frequently used 181 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:27.039 in his household. After reciting a few short prayers, he stood to face 182 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:32.559 the east of the scaffold. Emotionless at the sight of the axe as blade, 183 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:37.119 he displayed a cheerfulness of mind, according to one source, as he 184 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:41.359 bowed and addressed the crowd as follows, masters and good fellows. I am 185 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:45.400 come hither to die, but a true and faithful man, as any was 186 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:51.200 unto the King's majesty and to his realm. But I am condemned by a 187 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:56.640 law whereunto I am subject, and are we all, and therefore to show 188 00:17:56.680 --> 00:18:00.640 obedience. I am content to die with. I am well, content, 189 00:18:02.039 --> 00:18:06.519 being a thing most heartily welcome unto me, for which I do thank God, 190 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:10.799 taking it for a singular benefit as ever might have come to me. 191 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:15.920 For as I am a man, I have deserved at God's hands many deaths, 192 00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:22.000 and has pleased his goodliness, whereas he might have taken me suddenly that 193 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:26.680 I should neither have known him nor myself. Thus now to visit me and 194 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:30.000 call me with this present death, as you do see, where I have 195 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:36.000 had time to remember and acknowledge Him, and to know also myself, for 196 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:40.839 which I do thank Him most heartily. And my friends, more I have 197 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:45.000 to say to you concerning religion, I have, always, being in authority, 198 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:48.960 a further of it, to further the glory of God to the utmost 199 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:55.519 of my power, whereof I am nothing sorry, but rather have cause and 200 00:18:55.599 --> 00:19:00.599 do rejoice most gladly that I have so done for the mightiest benefit of God 201 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:06.200 that ever I had or any man might have in this world, beseeching you 202 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:10.559 all to take it so and follow it on still, for if it not, 203 00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:15.960 we'll follow a worse and will come a great plague end quote Suddenly again, 204 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:22.039 according to the sources, at that last phrase, a great plague, 205 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:27.079 a thunderous sound burst across the skies. The crowd began to scatter in confusion. 206 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:32.960 Some ran into nearby house's, others dived into the tower ditch. Many 207 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:40.000 just fell to the ground and groveled. Sir Anthony Bowne, who was there, 208 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:44.000 circled beneath the scaffold on his horse, attempting to calm the crowd. 209 00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:49.960 The message quickly spread. The king had sent his uncle a parton caps and 210 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:53.559 cloaks were suddenly thrown into the air, and chance of God save the King 211 00:19:53.880 --> 00:20:00.880 went up, But of course there was no pardon. Shouts of rejoicing soon 212 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:07.559 turned to sorrow and tears. All the while Somerset had remained quiet, standing 213 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:12.039 on the same spot of the scaffold, his hat still in his hand. 214 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:19.039 Finally he made a sound to quiet the crowd when he continued, there is 215 00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:22.799 no such thing, good people, there is no such thing he's talking about, 216 00:20:22.839 --> 00:20:27.440 the pardon. It is the ordinance of God. Thus for to die 217 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:33.000 wherewith we must be content. And I pray you be quiet, for I 218 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:37.519 myself am quiet, and make you no stirring. And I pray you. 219 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:42.200 Now let us pray together for the King's majesty, to whose grace I have 220 00:20:42.440 --> 00:20:49.279 always been faithful, a true and loving subject, desirous always of his most 221 00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:56.599 prosperous success in all affairs, and ever glad of the furtherance and helping forth 222 00:20:56.640 --> 00:21:03.480 ward of the commonwealth of this realm. His speech was repeatedly interrupted by cries 223 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:08.799 of yay, yay, and Amen. It was a time for old wounds 224 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:15.799 to be healed as well. Somerset looked to God for forgiveness. He claimed 225 00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:21.720 he had made mistakes and asked God to forgive them. He urged for silence 226 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:27.960 repeatedly, and constantly asked for the crowd to forgive him, but to believe 227 00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:34.599 in Edward, to believe in the future. There was one observer who wrote 228 00:21:36.359 --> 00:21:40.839 an observation. His name was Antonio de Gerris. He was a Catholic when 229 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:47.599 he was hostile to everything that he was seeing before him. But still everything 230 00:21:47.640 --> 00:21:52.279 that was happened was scarcely believable. He thought for certain there would be a 231 00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:57.400 struggle, at least one last attempt to gain freedom. Surely, this man 232 00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:03.599 would later writeque if he had cast himself from the scaffold or struggling with the 233 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:07.119 executioner, assuredly he had not died there. He was not held of any 234 00:22:07.240 --> 00:22:11.599 chains or bonds, it being the custom to exempt noblemen from these when they 235 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:17.880 were led to the scaffold. The guard, among others, would have connived 236 00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:22.279 at his escape on account of the favor of the people Somerset. In the 237 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:30.759 end, this man declared was killed by quote a want of spirit end quote. 238 00:22:30.359 --> 00:22:34.839 The Duke turned to Neil. He was presented with a scroll containing his 239 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:40.680 confession. Without hesitation, he read it aloud, returned to his feet. 240 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:45.039 He then shook hands with everyone on the scaffold and rewarded the executioner with a 241 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:49.240 few coins set aside in the hope that he would deliver a blow that was 242 00:22:49.319 --> 00:22:56.720 quick and painless. Taking off Somerset's gown, the executioner turned the stiff collar 243 00:22:56.759 --> 00:23:02.799 around in order not to hinder the stroke of the axe, Somerset's cheeks turning 244 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:08.960 visibly red as the axe fell, the crowd groaned. The body was thrown 245 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:15.200 on to a cart and was taken away in the tower. Throughout the day, 246 00:23:15.880 --> 00:23:19.880 crowds came to the execution site to talk about the Duke, lamenting and 247 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:26.440 bewailing his death. Edward was overcome at the news of his uncle's death. 248 00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:32.000 It was said that if Somerset's name ever came up, Edward would sigh and 249 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:36.559 fall to tears, saying, quote, his uncle had done nothing, or 250 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:40.279 if he had, it was very small, and it proceeded from his wife, 251 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:44.319 then from himself. And where then, said he was the good nature 252 00:23:44.359 --> 00:23:48.960 of a nephew, Where was this clemency of a prince? Ah? How 253 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:55.359 unfortunate have I, Edward bend to those of my blood? My mother I 254 00:23:55.440 --> 00:24:00.200 slew at my birth and sins have made away two of her brothers, and 255 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:06.519 happily to make a way for others against myself. Was it ever known before 256 00:24:06.599 --> 00:24:11.200 that a king's uncle, a lord protector, one whose fortunes had advanced the 257 00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:15.920 honor of the realm, did lose his head for a felony, for a 258 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:27.119 felony neither clear in law, and in fact weakly proved. Now there was 259 00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:33.559 another issue with Somerset's death, and that was church reform. Northumberland wasn't necessarily 260 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:37.599 a reformer. He wasn't opposed to it, but it certainly wasn't the first 261 00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:44.480 thing on his mind. If he came to power, Cranmer's caused might well 262 00:24:44.599 --> 00:24:49.079 collapse, or at the very least the reform would probably proceed at a much 263 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:57.440 slower pace. The Reform Party's only real hope now was that Edward would come 264 00:24:57.480 --> 00:25:04.359 of age, that Edward would take power and complete the reformation of the English 265 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:33.279 Church. But the clock was ticking. Somerset was dead, Northumberland was completely 266 00:25:33.319 --> 00:25:38.279 ascendant. Edward, for his part, loved Northumberland, reportedly like a father. 267 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:42.559 But Edward was also ready to rule. There could be no denying that 268 00:25:42.599 --> 00:25:47.319 he had begun to take upon himself a greater share of the government of England. 269 00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:52.519 His diary entries, especially in early fifteen fifty two, reflect a growing 270 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:56.599 consciousness of his own authority. Despite every sign that Edward was maturing into a 271 00:25:56.720 --> 00:26:02.119 king able to seize the reigns of power, there is no surviving evidence for 272 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:07.400 his involvement in the formulation of the Second Book of Common Prayer, authorized in 273 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:11.440 April fifteen fifty two and brought into ust of November the first of that year. 274 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:15.720 This book was to act as a clarification to the fifteen forty nine Prayer 275 00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:21.279 Book, which, despite acting as a compromise between Protestantism and Catholicism, was 276 00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:26.480 most probably intended only as a temporary measure and had pleased no one, especially 277 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:30.519 the Reformers, who shirked at any mention of the Mass in the text. 278 00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:34.720 The reformer John Hooper would later write quote I am so much offended with that 279 00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:40.680 book that if it not be corrected, I neither can nor will communicate with 280 00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:45.119 the Church in the administration of the Supper end quote. At the same time, 281 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:48.839 as the Reformers embedded themselves as bishops in their new seas, they had 282 00:26:48.880 --> 00:26:55.480 been horrified to discover the state of religion. Attendance at the church was poor. 283 00:26:55.680 --> 00:27:00.759 Half the priests Hooper met could not recite the Ten Commandments were continuing to 284 00:27:00.839 --> 00:27:06.559 use forbidden ceremonies. Many simply found ways to work around the fifteen forty nine 285 00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:11.640 Prayer Book while retaining the essential elements of their Catholic belief. The noble woman 286 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:17.119 Lady Marney, whose will requested that she be buried with full Catholic pomp, 287 00:27:17.720 --> 00:27:22.640 including masses sung for her soul, could see no contradiction that on the day 288 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:26.440 of the burial she wanted sung quote. Such service is set out or appointed 289 00:27:26.599 --> 00:27:32.880 by the King's Book, i e. The Prayer Book. Meanwhile, despite 290 00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:36.920 the smashing of images, the whitewashing of churches, and the toppling of altars, 291 00:27:37.480 --> 00:27:41.119 destruction could never amount to conversion and the formation of a Protestant nation. 292 00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:48.119 Reforms had not been followed through with preaching and discipline. The reformer Martin Bucker 293 00:27:48.440 --> 00:27:55.400 told Edward in person in fifteen fifty only quote by means of ordinances which the 294 00:27:55.440 --> 00:28:00.119 majority obey very grudgingly, and by the removal of the instruments of ancient and 295 00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:06.319 superstition end quote. Something simply had to be done and a uniform order imposed 296 00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:11.079 upon every church. In doing so, the new revised Book of Common Prayer 297 00:28:11.160 --> 00:28:15.359 made a decisive break with the past. Ceremonies that had been retained in the 298 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:21.200 old service and had been condemned by Protestants were now removed, and the baptism, 299 00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:27.000 confirmation and burial services rewritten, with an end to any possibility of prayers 300 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:33.319 for the dead. The way communities viewed their world order was transformed drastically. 301 00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:38.039 In the Communion service, many prayers were omitted and the former structure of the 302 00:28:38.079 --> 00:28:45.279 mass removed. Any hint of transubstantiation that the bread and wine actually transformed into 303 00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:49.200 the body of blood of Christ were removed, with emphasis being placed instead on 304 00:28:49.240 --> 00:28:56.720 the remembrance of Christ's sacrifice quote take this and eat it underlined in remembrance underlined, 305 00:28:56.839 --> 00:29:02.400 end that Christ died for the feed on him in thy heart by faith 306 00:29:02.440 --> 00:29:07.680 and with thanksgiving. All mention of the Virgin Mary, saints and prophets now 307 00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:12.200 disappeared, as did all vestments except for the priest's surplus, and music was 308 00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:17.480 reduced to a bare minimum, while in a final coda, a black rubric 309 00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:22.160 tagged on after the book had gone depressed, was forced to deny that kneeling 310 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:26.920 at the communion suggested adoration in any way. In fifteen fifty two, the 311 00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:33.680 Prayer Book was the high water mark for Edward's reformation, and really it was, 312 00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:38.319 in the words of another historian, the greatest single achievement of Edward's reign, 313 00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:45.440 albeit a short one. Its legacy lives on even today. It was 314 00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:49.480 the model of the Elizabethan Book, which only slightly changed in sixteen sixty two, 315 00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:55.839 and which is still the liturgy for the Church of England as I speak 316 00:29:56.160 --> 00:30:00.640 right now. In twenty twenty three, on April the si second, Edward 317 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:03.920 fell ill with measles and according to the records, smallpox, but he made 318 00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:08.799 a swift recovery. By late May we have evidence that Edward was directly participating 319 00:30:08.799 --> 00:30:12.119 in government, signing warrants in his own hand. For the first time. 320 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:17.440 He was on the threshold of his power, and he knew it. In 321 00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:22.680 July he took his first progress through the realm. By the time Edward returned, 322 00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:27.279 Northumberland was deeply depressed. England was once more in the throes of domestic 323 00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:32.720 unrest and as a result of the enclosure crisis, and he knew that there 324 00:30:32.759 --> 00:30:38.000 was serious business to attend to worse Still, England's debts continued to mount, 325 00:30:38.759 --> 00:30:44.599 and Northumberland feared its credit on the Ford Market was on the verge of collapse. 326 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:48.359 It was clear that the King needed to call Parliament to pass a subsidy 327 00:30:48.400 --> 00:30:56.799 and remained the debts, and he had to do it now, and Edward 328 00:30:56.839 --> 00:31:00.759 continued to come to his own It was during late October that Edward met with 329 00:31:00.839 --> 00:31:06.599 Hieronymous Cardano, an Italian physician and astrologer, whose later account of their meeting 330 00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:12.839 is the most contemporary and possibly most objective account of Edward's abilities. Edward had 331 00:31:12.839 --> 00:31:18.359 apparently grown physically weak, and the council wished for Cardono to discover the nature 332 00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:25.279 of his illness and to cast his horoscope, which again was perfectly consistent with 333 00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:30.319 medicine at the time. Received by the king, Cardano found Edward to be 334 00:31:30.599 --> 00:31:36.680 of about middle height, pale faced, with large gray eyes, a grave 335 00:31:36.839 --> 00:31:41.119 aspect, but somewhat handsome, adding that he has rather a bad habit of 336 00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:45.880 body rather than a sufferer from fixed diseases. It appeared that he had a 337 00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:51.319 projecting shoulder blade, which give him kind of a hunched look, which is 338 00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:53.680 what we see in a lot of the paintings of Edward, but he said 339 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:59.960 that this defect did not amount to a deformity. The two conversed in last 340 00:32:00.680 --> 00:32:05.720 for a long time. Edward asked Cardano about his recent book, which actually 341 00:32:05.720 --> 00:32:09.240 had been dedicated to him. There then ensued a debate upon the nature of 342 00:32:09.319 --> 00:32:15.559 comments, during which Cardono considered Edward spoke Latin as politely and fluently as he 343 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:22.119 did, but was reserved in his judgment of Edward's own reasoning, commenting that, 344 00:32:22.200 --> 00:32:24.480 of course Edward just loved the liberal arts and sciences, but he didn't 345 00:32:24.519 --> 00:32:28.359 really know them yet. I mean, we have to remember this is still 346 00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:32.960 a sixteen year old kid here. He also noted that Edward seemed old before 347 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:38.079 his time, carrying himself like an old man. Nevertheless, the Italian was 348 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:42.400 impressed. He would later write, quote, it might seem a miracle of 349 00:32:42.519 --> 00:32:47.680 nature to behold the excellent wilt and forwardness that appeared in him, being yet 350 00:32:47.720 --> 00:32:53.440 but a child. This I speak not rhetorically to amplify things or to make 351 00:32:53.480 --> 00:32:58.799 them more true. Is yay, the truth is more than I do utter 352 00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:05.279 end quote. Edward's own interest in astronomy is readily evident in one of his 353 00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:10.240 orations. A lengthy defense of the practice written in fifteen fifty one, against 354 00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:15.039 those who quote hold that it is not useful to the body, nor the 355 00:33:15.079 --> 00:33:20.359 mind, nor the state, a view which ought not undeservingly to become by 356 00:33:20.400 --> 00:33:28.599 affected by much cursing end quote. He argued that astronomy is absolutely necessary to 357 00:33:28.720 --> 00:33:35.720 understanding the world. Edward, we know, owned various astronomical instruments, including 358 00:33:36.119 --> 00:33:39.799 a pillar of astronomy of white bone delivered to him, and also a dial 359 00:33:39.920 --> 00:33:46.319 of ivory. In November fifteen forty nine, he ordered two cases of instruments 360 00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:51.359 of astronomy to be presented to him, and we have every reason to believe 361 00:33:51.400 --> 00:33:55.839 that they were. Cardano also found that Edward had a couple of other physical 362 00:33:55.960 --> 00:34:00.720 defects that he wrote down. He was short cited and a little deaf. 363 00:34:01.559 --> 00:34:07.359 This may have been caused by the difficulty of straining to understand the Italian's pronunciation 364 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:13.119 of Latin, but certainly multiple people have confirmed that Edward had problems with sight, 365 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:16.400 and he did own a pair of spectacles which he used as much as 366 00:34:16.400 --> 00:34:23.880 he could. Cardano and Edward actually met multiple times, and Cardono became impressed 367 00:34:23.960 --> 00:34:29.159 more and more each meeting. It is again kind of a wonder to think 368 00:34:29.199 --> 00:34:36.360 about what Edward might have become if he would have lived. Cardano then sat 369 00:34:36.440 --> 00:34:39.239 down to do the second thing he had come to do. He cast Edward's 370 00:34:39.239 --> 00:34:45.960 horoscope. This is a process that occupied him for around one hundred hours. 371 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:49.840 But again, remember this is serious business. Back in the day, he 372 00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:54.760 calculated his life expectancy and he predicted a long life for the king, though 373 00:34:54.800 --> 00:35:00.159 he did warrant that the King would suffer major illnesses at the age of of 374 00:35:00.199 --> 00:35:04.480 thirty two, thirty four and fifty five. Time, of course, would 375 00:35:04.519 --> 00:35:08.639 prove Cardono wrong on this final horoscope. Edward in fact, would be dead 376 00:35:08.880 --> 00:35:15.039 within about a year. Still, there was a sense that the worst might 377 00:35:15.039 --> 00:35:20.360 be behind England. As the calendar turned to fifteen fifty two. Edward had 378 00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:24.840 restored relations with Princess Mary. Most of the king's foreign loans around one hundred 379 00:35:24.840 --> 00:35:30.840 and thirty thousand pounds about twenty four million in today's money, had been repaid. 380 00:35:31.400 --> 00:35:37.000 But all the money in the world could not paper over one devastating reality. 381 00:35:37.320 --> 00:35:44.199 Edward was dying. In January, Edward fell ill with a fever and 382 00:35:44.239 --> 00:35:47.519 a cough. By the middle of that month, when Mary went to visit 383 00:35:47.599 --> 00:35:52.400 him. She found him bedridden. When Parliament opened that month, it was 384 00:35:52.480 --> 00:35:58.880 a somber affair. We do have a painting from this period that shows Edward 385 00:35:59.079 --> 00:36:05.639 administering over Parliament, which he almost certainly was not. Regardless, this would 386 00:36:05.679 --> 00:36:09.760 prove to be the last living painting of Edward that would ever be made. 387 00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:15.639 Edward had reached the threshold of power, on the very urge of taking the 388 00:36:15.719 --> 00:36:22.679 throne, but now he was too weak to cross it. In April he 389 00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:29.119 was moved to Greenwich, where everyone prayed the clean air would speed his recovery. 390 00:36:30.159 --> 00:36:37.000 But a few days later his condition once again deteriorated. The Privy Council 391 00:36:37.079 --> 00:36:40.840 continued to conduct business as usual, but there was little even they could do 392 00:36:42.440 --> 00:36:49.360 to hide the reality that Edward's life was nearing its end. It was now 393 00:36:49.400 --> 00:36:53.280 finally, at this stage that Edward turned his attentions seriously to a document that 394 00:36:53.320 --> 00:36:59.000 he had been thinking about for a long time. He called it Quote his 395 00:36:59.480 --> 00:37:06.039 Divide End, Quote for the Succession of the Crown. This was the plan 396 00:37:06.239 --> 00:37:09.480 for in the event of his death, an event that seemed to be quickly 397 00:37:09.519 --> 00:37:15.679 approaching, who would inherit the reigns of state? Obviously Edward didn't have any 398 00:37:15.760 --> 00:37:22.159 children of his own, and so in doing this, the goal was pretty 399 00:37:22.199 --> 00:37:28.920 simple. He was going to circumvent Henry the Eighth's succession plan, and he 400 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:32.400 was going to disinherit his two half sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. This was 401 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:39.719 remarkable and absolutely revolutionary. Edward was abandoning his family, turning against the traditional 402 00:37:39.880 --> 00:37:45.079 laws of inheritance and his late father's wishes. Instead, he was going to 403 00:37:45.760 --> 00:37:51.920 buy legal fiat create a new dynasty, one founded, in his opinion, 404 00:37:52.039 --> 00:37:57.320 upon the true reformed faith. Whatever the future held, Edward was determined that 405 00:37:57.440 --> 00:38:04.079 his dream of establishing an evangelical realm was going to survive beyond him. Edward 406 00:38:04.400 --> 00:38:08.039 probably made a start on the original draft early that year. His writing is 407 00:38:08.079 --> 00:38:14.280 bold and clear, hardly the work of someone suffering from a debilitating illness. 408 00:38:14.920 --> 00:38:17.679 Edward made it perfectly clear that he might still marry and have heirs of his 409 00:38:17.719 --> 00:38:22.400 own. Possibly he had been thinking of taking the problem of succession to Parliament, 410 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:28.280 for the initial purpose of the document seems to have been to secure against 411 00:38:28.320 --> 00:38:31.840 a female succession, no doubt in anathema to the young king and the male 412 00:38:31.920 --> 00:38:37.800 dominated tutor society that he ruled. In any case, it seems that at 413 00:38:37.880 --> 00:38:44.199 least at this stage, Northumberland was not aware of the King's intentions for written 414 00:38:44.360 --> 00:38:49.159 and corrected in his own hand, this devise reads very much as Edward's own 415 00:38:49.199 --> 00:38:54.000 making. An anonymous French source believed that the Chief Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, 416 00:38:54.360 --> 00:39:00.320 John Gates, to be one of the quote principles who induced the King 417 00:39:00.360 --> 00:39:05.679 to make out his will to the prejudice of Lady Mary, but there could 418 00:39:05.719 --> 00:39:10.000 have been others. Different sources mention other high ranking male officials like John Cheek, 419 00:39:10.280 --> 00:39:15.760 Thomas Goodrich, and the Bishop of Eli. All of these could have 420 00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:20.280 encouraged the King to work on his will at this point. Now, this 421 00:39:20.360 --> 00:39:24.320 should never be taken as evidence that Edward was browbeaten into writing out his own 422 00:39:24.400 --> 00:39:30.679 sisters from the succession, rather that the king took the widest possible counsel in 423 00:39:30.760 --> 00:39:37.079 drawing up plans for his new evangelical dynasty. According to the original draft, 424 00:39:37.480 --> 00:39:43.079 if Edward died childless, the crown would now descend through the male heirs of 425 00:39:43.159 --> 00:39:47.360 Francis, Duchess of Suffolk, the daughter of Henry Yight's younger sister Mary. 426 00:39:49.400 --> 00:39:54.079 The line of succession would then continue through the male heirs of Francis's daughters Jane, 427 00:39:54.440 --> 00:40:00.159 Catherine and Mary. Princess Mary and Princess Elizabeth, on the other hand, 428 00:40:00.639 --> 00:40:06.440 were to be effectively bought out of the succession if they follow the advice 429 00:40:06.480 --> 00:40:10.480 of the executors and quote be bound to live in quiet order end quote, 430 00:40:10.800 --> 00:40:15.199 they would both receive an annuity of one thousand pounds. If they married according 431 00:40:15.239 --> 00:40:20.320 to the Council's wishes, they would further receive a gift of ten thousand pounds 432 00:40:20.360 --> 00:40:24.000 in addition to the top of the sum set out in Edward's bequest. Now, 433 00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:29.880 of course, the only problem to this plan was that there were no 434 00:40:30.119 --> 00:40:37.519 male heirs in Francis's line. It depends sometime since Francis last gave birth to 435 00:40:37.559 --> 00:40:43.480 a child, and so for the moment, Edward's male heir remained unborn even 436 00:40:43.480 --> 00:40:47.840 if he was choosing this line. Thus, it was more crucial that the 437 00:40:47.880 --> 00:40:53.920 two unmarried daughters of Francis, Jane and Catherine, be married off as soon 438 00:40:53.920 --> 00:41:00.920 as possible. This is the aforementioned Jane Gray, who I talked about in 439 00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:06.280 a previous episode. Person who's going to become in a moment here the shortest 440 00:41:06.280 --> 00:41:13.119 living monarch in English history. And so Jane and Catherine were duly married off 441 00:41:13.239 --> 00:41:16.559 right away. But even after both women were married just a few days later, 442 00:41:17.360 --> 00:41:22.519 Edward and everyone around him realized he couldn't wait for a male heir, 443 00:41:22.679 --> 00:41:29.320 even if both of those women became pregnant instantaneously. He needed to choose somebody 444 00:41:30.199 --> 00:41:35.480 right now. Thus he changed his final will to read that the crown should 445 00:41:35.480 --> 00:41:42.760 pass directly to Lady Jane Gray and her male heirs. That change was crucial. 446 00:41:43.800 --> 00:41:50.920 The crown would now go to Jane. Very few people knew of Edward's 447 00:41:50.920 --> 00:41:57.800 decision. Jane actually didn't know herself. For centuries, people assumed that Northumberland 448 00:41:57.840 --> 00:42:02.840 had been behind it all. Recent scholarship has revealed that Edward thought deeply about 449 00:42:02.880 --> 00:42:09.400 the issue and made the decision himself. We know that Edward did not want 450 00:42:09.400 --> 00:42:15.000 the crown to pass to Catholic Mary, and that was probably his driving impulse. 451 00:42:15.719 --> 00:42:19.800 What led him to write out Elizabeth is a little bit trickier of a 452 00:42:19.920 --> 00:42:27.119 question, regardless. By June the eleventh, the Imperial ambassador was frantically writing 453 00:42:27.199 --> 00:42:34.360 back to the Continent that King Edward was near death. Edward had resolved in 454 00:42:34.360 --> 00:42:37.559 his own mind that Jane was to heed him, but in order that the 455 00:42:37.599 --> 00:42:40.599 legal ends be properly tied up. On June the twelfth, the judges of 456 00:42:40.639 --> 00:42:45.719 the King's Bench were summoned by the Council to discuss the matter of the succession, 457 00:42:45.800 --> 00:42:51.519 joan Edward's devise and commanded to turn it into a legal will. They 458 00:42:51.519 --> 00:42:58.440 were evidently dumbfounded and demanded more time conferring together. However, they considered the 459 00:42:58.519 --> 00:43:04.440 danger of treason overturning the legal succession too great, and two days later they 460 00:43:04.480 --> 00:43:09.840 simply refused. Northumberland flew into a rage. He denounced the Lord Chief Justice 461 00:43:09.880 --> 00:43:15.480 as a traitor and challenge them to the contrary, shouting that he would fight 462 00:43:15.559 --> 00:43:19.840 them then and there if he had to. Always a great legal strategy pick 463 00:43:19.840 --> 00:43:23.760 a fight with the judges. The judges then attempted to compromise. Okay, 464 00:43:23.800 --> 00:43:28.960 maybe Mary should be allowed to succeed to the throne if she swears to make 465 00:43:29.000 --> 00:43:34.280 no alteration to religion. Edward and all those around him sharply rejected that idea. 466 00:43:35.679 --> 00:43:38.679 The next day, the judges returned to face Edward himself. He demanded 467 00:43:38.679 --> 00:43:43.840 angrily to know why his wishes had not been obeyed, to which they explained 468 00:43:43.880 --> 00:43:49.480 that they didn't want to commit treason. Despite his growing weakness, Edward then 469 00:43:49.519 --> 00:43:55.719 proceeded to shout at them. He was convinced Mary would absolutely change the religion 470 00:43:55.760 --> 00:44:00.400 of the country, and in fact, he believes she would leave no stone 471 00:44:00.480 --> 00:44:05.239 unturned in her effort to gain control of the throne, and it would destroy 472 00:44:05.400 --> 00:44:10.800 the foundation of the new evangelical realm. He therefore resolved to quote disown and 473 00:44:10.840 --> 00:44:16.039 disinherit her together with her sister Elizabeth, as though she were a bastard and 474 00:44:16.159 --> 00:44:22.400 sprung from an illegitimate bed end quote. In fact, the king would later 475 00:44:22.440 --> 00:44:25.440 write as follows. For indeed, my sister Mary was the daughter by the 476 00:44:25.559 --> 00:44:29.880 King of Catherine of the Spaniard, who, before she was married to my 477 00:44:29.960 --> 00:44:32.760 worthy father, had been espoused to Arthur, my father's elder brother, and 478 00:44:32.880 --> 00:44:37.119 was therefore for this reason alone divorced by my father. But it was the 479 00:44:37.119 --> 00:44:40.920 fate of Elizabeth, my other sister, to have Anne Boleyn for a mother. 480 00:44:42.519 --> 00:44:45.360 This woman was indeed not only cast off by my father because she was 481 00:44:45.360 --> 00:44:51.480 more inclined to couple with a number of courtiers rather than reverencing her husband so 482 00:44:51.679 --> 00:44:55.679 mighty a king, but also paid the penalty with her head a greater proof 483 00:44:55.719 --> 00:45:00.159 of her guilt. Thus, in our judgment, they will be undeserved, 484 00:45:00.400 --> 00:45:05.360 considered as being numbered among the heirs of our king, beloved father. Quote. 485 00:45:05.400 --> 00:45:08.239 He demanded that his cousin Jane be his heir, and that the judges, 486 00:45:08.440 --> 00:45:15.360 upon their allegiance, draw up letters patent of his will. Northumberland realized 487 00:45:15.400 --> 00:45:19.280 the coming transition would be rocky, so he looked to France for military support 488 00:45:19.320 --> 00:45:23.639 to shore up his position. Henry the Second, still alive, needed allies 489 00:45:23.679 --> 00:45:29.480 to fight the Emperor, so the union made sense on both sides. What 490 00:45:29.800 --> 00:45:34.800 neither side realized at the time was just how badly the English people were about 491 00:45:34.800 --> 00:45:40.159 to reject the idea of Queen Jane. Edward was now unable to keep food 492 00:45:40.239 --> 00:45:46.519 down and could not walk because his legs were so badly swollen. Realizing he 493 00:45:46.559 --> 00:45:52.119 had the upper hand, Henry the Second pressed Northumberland for a commitment of military 494 00:45:52.280 --> 00:45:59.599 force against the Empire in exchange for a promise to support Jane. Northumberland, 495 00:46:00.119 --> 00:46:02.679 for his part, New England was not in a position to make such a 496 00:46:02.719 --> 00:46:07.239 guarantee of strength, but he didn't have a choice. News of Edward's condition 497 00:46:07.880 --> 00:46:15.159 swept across Europe in Brussels. The rumor was he was already dead. Charles 498 00:46:15.199 --> 00:46:20.599 the Fifth was not about to sit idly by and watch his niece Mary failed 499 00:46:20.639 --> 00:46:25.760 to secure the throne. If Northumberland had everything riding on Jane's ascension, Charles 500 00:46:25.800 --> 00:46:30.039 had the same riding on Mary's. So in late June he sent a diplomatic 501 00:46:30.079 --> 00:46:36.360 team with instructions to see that the Catholic princess was the next Queen of England. 502 00:46:37.559 --> 00:46:42.079 Hence, as Edward lay dying, the battle lines were already drawn. 503 00:46:42.960 --> 00:46:47.280 On the evening of the sixth of July fifteen fifty three, Edward seemed at 504 00:46:47.320 --> 00:46:52.119 death's door. According to one witness, he raised his eyes to the heavens 505 00:46:52.519 --> 00:46:57.679 and said, Lord, deliver me out of this miserable and wretched life, 506 00:46:58.079 --> 00:47:01.199 and take me among thy chosen. And howbeit not my will, but thy 507 00:47:01.280 --> 00:47:06.280 will be done. Lord, I commit my spirit to THEE. O Lord, 508 00:47:06.760 --> 00:47:10.079 thou knowest how happy it were for me to be with THEE. Yet 509 00:47:10.119 --> 00:47:15.440 for thy chosen sake, send me life and health that I may truly serve 510 00:47:15.519 --> 00:47:21.760 THEE. Oh Lord, bless my people and save my inheritance. Oh Lord, 511 00:47:22.440 --> 00:47:27.000 save thy chosen people of England. Oh my God. Defed my realm 512 00:47:27.000 --> 00:47:32.440 from papistry and maintain thy true religion, that I and my people may praise 513 00:47:32.519 --> 00:47:39.920 Thy holy name for the sin Jesus Christ's sake. It was moments later then 514 00:47:39.920 --> 00:47:45.440 he was asked what he was doing. Edward's response was, I was praying 515 00:47:45.519 --> 00:47:52.840 to God. He then turned and uttered what were his last words? I 516 00:47:52.920 --> 00:47:59.119 am faint, Lord, have mercy on me and take my spirit. Then 517 00:47:59.400 --> 00:48:05.719 Edward the same Andry the Eighth's only male heir, breathed his last. He 518 00:48:05.880 --> 00:48:12.400 was not quite sixteen years old. Immediately there were rumors that Edward had been 519 00:48:12.400 --> 00:48:19.519 poisoned, and those rumors continued all the way into Elizabeth's reign. The exact 520 00:48:19.559 --> 00:48:22.800 cause of Edward's death has remained a matter of debate. The surgeon who later 521 00:48:22.880 --> 00:48:28.960 opened up Edward's chest found that quote the disease whereon his Majesty died was a 522 00:48:29.000 --> 00:48:32.920 disease of the lungs end quote. Others recorded that he had a tough, 523 00:48:34.039 --> 00:48:39.960 straining cough that became more and more violent as he slowly weakened. Some people 524 00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:46.039 believed that Edward developed a cold after drinking finn an infected cup after a game 525 00:48:46.079 --> 00:48:51.840 of tennis. We don't really know the truth. To understand the nature of 526 00:48:51.960 --> 00:48:55.559 Edward's illness, we can look back to April of fifteen fifty two. Then 527 00:48:55.920 --> 00:49:00.599 Edward described in his journal how he fell sick with what he described as measles 528 00:49:00.639 --> 00:49:06.519 and smallpox. He made a quick recovery, but his brief illness was significant 529 00:49:06.880 --> 00:49:13.679 and most likely responsible for his eventual death. Modern research has shown that measles 530 00:49:13.880 --> 00:49:21.119 can suppress natural immunity to tuberculosis, reactivating the bacteria that can survive within ourselves, 531 00:49:21.360 --> 00:49:25.760 even within healthy lung tissue. The large cavities described by the surgeons opening 532 00:49:25.800 --> 00:49:31.880 up Edward's lungs after his death are typical of such a reactivation and actually can 533 00:49:31.920 --> 00:49:37.360 be seen in patients today. Edward was probably in close contact with at least 534 00:49:37.400 --> 00:49:44.960 one person who had tuberculosis, most likely after his contraction of measles. Modern 535 00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.119 studies have shown that exposure to tuberculosis would only need to be brief, perhaps 536 00:49:49.159 --> 00:49:52.719 even fleeting. If this was the case, it was only a matter of 537 00:49:52.760 --> 00:49:57.599 time after Edward had contracted measles that he would succumb to the disease. His 538 00:49:57.719 --> 00:50:01.039 swelling legs, failing pulse, and the loosening of his finger and toenails and 539 00:50:01.119 --> 00:50:06.360 changed skin color, signs that contemporaries took to be the work of poison were 540 00:50:06.400 --> 00:50:13.760 actually secondary symptoms of the disease. Edward's death was lamented across the nation and 541 00:50:13.840 --> 00:50:16.800 beyond, were many considered it to have been a measure of divine punishment. 542 00:50:17.639 --> 00:50:22.239 The only question, though, was if that was true, who was to 543 00:50:22.280 --> 00:50:46.760 be punished For the whole of the next day, Edward's death was kept secret, 544 00:50:47.280 --> 00:50:51.599 but it did not take long for news to leak out. After all, 545 00:50:51.679 --> 00:50:55.599 his death was far from unexpected. Immediately, Northumberland sprang into action. 546 00:50:57.519 --> 00:51:00.320 Jane, if he had his way, was to he crowned Queen of England 547 00:51:00.360 --> 00:51:06.199 in just four days. The key to the plan was to apprehend the Princess 548 00:51:06.280 --> 00:51:09.760 Mary, But when a force arrived at her residency to place her under arrests, 549 00:51:10.360 --> 00:51:15.159 the house was empty. Mary had already fled. In fact, truth 550 00:51:15.199 --> 00:51:19.280 be told, Mary had left that house back on the fourth of July and 551 00:51:19.400 --> 00:51:22.360 was now in Norfolk. Mary knew her rights. She was no puppet, 552 00:51:23.159 --> 00:51:28.119 disinherited by her own father once before. She was not about to lose this 553 00:51:28.280 --> 00:51:32.199 chance at the throne. Oddly, throughout the next few days, Mary had 554 00:51:32.239 --> 00:51:37.480 to do it all on her own. Despite his promises, Charles the Fifth's 555 00:51:37.480 --> 00:51:43.000 imperial delegation did little to nothing to aid her. Meanwhile, the Mayor of 556 00:51:43.039 --> 00:51:46.599 London was brought to the tower where for the first time he was told Jane 557 00:51:46.719 --> 00:51:53.920 Gray was to become queen. Probably stunned, this bewildered man, staring down 558 00:51:54.000 --> 00:51:59.679 several armed guards, affixed his seal to Edward's will and swore to protect the 559 00:51:59.760 --> 00:52:04.280 lady Jane. Jane was then brought to the tower where, on the tenth 560 00:52:04.320 --> 00:52:08.719 of July fifteen fifty three, she was crowned the Queen of England. At 561 00:52:08.760 --> 00:52:15.039 seven pm that night, Trumpeters announced Edward's death and proclaimed Jane queen simultaneously. 562 00:52:15.960 --> 00:52:22.599 According to all reports, thousands of Londoners stood silently, their faces quote sorrowful 563 00:52:22.679 --> 00:52:27.719 and averted end quote. They all knew what this meant. The wars of 564 00:52:27.760 --> 00:52:34.159 the Roses seemed once more upon the Kingdom. Then, on the eleventh of 565 00:52:34.239 --> 00:52:37.360 July, the very next day, the Council received a letter from Mary, 566 00:52:37.920 --> 00:52:45.119 her defiance reverberated throughout mourning her brother's passing, she made clear that the crown 567 00:52:45.199 --> 00:52:49.039 was hers and hers alone, her claim backed by an Act of Parliament and 568 00:52:49.079 --> 00:52:52.920 her father's will was self evident. She wrote, quote, you know the 569 00:52:52.960 --> 00:52:58.159 realm in the whole world, knoweth the roles and records appear by the authority 570 00:52:58.159 --> 00:53:00.920 of the King are said father, and the King our said brother, and 571 00:53:00.960 --> 00:53:05.599 the subjects of this realm, So that we verily trust that there is no 572 00:53:05.760 --> 00:53:09.599 good, true subject that is can or would pretend to be ignorant thereof end 573 00:53:09.679 --> 00:53:15.519 quote, she announced her intention to openly proclaim and publish her title as the 574 00:53:15.679 --> 00:53:22.960 rightful Queen of England. So then it was decided that an armed guard led 575 00:53:22.960 --> 00:53:30.440 by the Duke of Suffolk, would go and apprehend Mary, but he dithered 576 00:53:30.119 --> 00:53:37.079 and dithered. Exasperated, Northumberland decided that he would go on his own. 577 00:53:38.000 --> 00:53:44.159 The next morning, he departed with six hundred men, but as he marched, 578 00:53:44.719 --> 00:53:50.800 the news of Edward's death and Jane's ascension, plus Mary's proclamation struck both 579 00:53:50.840 --> 00:53:55.159 England and the continent. Europe, for its part, seemed ready to recognize 580 00:53:55.239 --> 00:54:02.360 Jane. England wasn't so sure. Many towns were uncertain whether to proclaim Jane 581 00:54:02.639 --> 00:54:08.360 or Mary queen, and did nothing at all. Sending his infantry first, 582 00:54:08.719 --> 00:54:14.360 Northumberland's army made its way toward Cambridge, but once more, Mary was one 583 00:54:14.400 --> 00:54:17.639 step ahead. She had already sent word to her supporters, who had begun 584 00:54:17.679 --> 00:54:22.519 to flock to her defense. Mary realized she couldn't stand up to Northumberland, 585 00:54:22.840 --> 00:54:28.320 and so she kept moving. These armed people that he was calling to her 586 00:54:28.320 --> 00:54:31.719 defense was just a buffer. It was a smart move, by the way, 587 00:54:32.239 --> 00:54:36.760 as she moved, sight of her led town after town to refuse to 588 00:54:36.800 --> 00:54:42.960 support Lady Jane. In fact, town after town declared for Mary. Cities 589 00:54:42.960 --> 00:54:49.800 soon followed suit. Northumberland simultaneously fired off messages to the continent to Henry the 590 00:54:49.840 --> 00:54:55.280 Second, desperate for French military support. Henry sent back messages indicating he would 591 00:54:55.280 --> 00:55:00.440 support Jane's claim, but he didn't send any actual aid. Peasants continued to 592 00:55:00.519 --> 00:55:08.519 rise in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire as morale around Jane in the Tower plummeted. The 593 00:55:08.599 --> 00:55:13.840 greatest turning point, however, was yet to come. Before Northumberland's departure. 594 00:55:14.079 --> 00:55:19.239 He had dispatched six ships containing around nine hundred men towards Yarmouth in an attempt 595 00:55:19.280 --> 00:55:22.639 to arrest Mary, but they had been hastily prepared with men of little naval 596 00:55:22.679 --> 00:55:29.480 experience and pressed into service to ensure his orders were obeyed. Northumberland had removed 597 00:55:29.480 --> 00:55:35.320 the ship's captains, placing his retinue in charge of the fleet, his servant, 598 00:55:35.320 --> 00:55:37.679 Gilbert Gryce, being in charge of the two hundred ton ship, the 599 00:55:37.679 --> 00:55:44.639 Greyhound. However, a storm scattered the ships and forced the Greyhound to seek 600 00:55:44.719 --> 00:55:49.760 shelter. There. Gryce went ashore to discover news and muster men, but 601 00:55:49.840 --> 00:55:54.400 found himself arrested by suspicious townspeople. The Greyhound then lay at anchor for two 602 00:55:54.480 --> 00:56:00.719 days while the ship's master received enticements from both sides, Gryce sending him three 603 00:56:00.760 --> 00:56:07.079 gold rings requesting he come ashore and speak with him. Eventually, it was 604 00:56:07.159 --> 00:56:10.320 Mary's servant who was allowed to get on board, but he was unable to 605 00:56:10.320 --> 00:56:15.760 convince the crew to take sides, and the Greyhound cast anchor in search of 606 00:56:15.880 --> 00:56:20.760 rest. By now desperate for wages, the mariners had broken over Gryce's chest 607 00:56:21.000 --> 00:56:25.559 and distributed the money therein for themselves. Hearing the news that Greyhound had arrived 608 00:56:25.639 --> 00:56:30.079 nearby, Mary sent her household officer to speak with the crew. At this 609 00:56:30.159 --> 00:56:35.000 point, the crew, having had enough, asked Mary's troops if they would 610 00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:37.559 simply arrest the officers. They replied, of course, that they would and 611 00:56:37.639 --> 00:56:43.719 as a result, the Greyhound switched sides. However, the decision of the 612 00:56:43.719 --> 00:56:49.400 ships to defect to Mary was hardly the mutinary that many commentators sense had made 613 00:56:49.400 --> 00:56:52.519 out of it. Many of the crew had found themselves hastily thrown together under 614 00:56:52.519 --> 00:56:58.400 the control of an unknown and inexperienced captain. Their resolve had been tested to 615 00:56:58.440 --> 00:57:01.760 the extremes by the storm, yet they held out from declaring for Mary until 616 00:57:01.800 --> 00:57:07.480 it was clear that their comrades would not take up arms against them. Back 617 00:57:07.519 --> 00:57:12.960 in the tower, however, news of the ship's defection struck morale badly. 618 00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:19.719 The nobility had now become prisoners in their own fortress, with Suffolk refusing to 619 00:57:19.800 --> 00:57:23.719 allow them to leave the tower. Stuck in Cambridge, Northumberland began to grow 620 00:57:23.840 --> 00:57:29.639 uneasy, and now the bad news started to come like waterfalls. The next 621 00:57:29.719 --> 00:57:34.159 day, Northumberland received news that the Earl of Oxford had defected. The same 622 00:57:34.239 --> 00:57:37.679 day he got word that members of the ruling elite in Sussex had proclaimed Mary 623 00:57:37.760 --> 00:57:45.159 Queen. It was over. Northumberland had failed. The next day, the 624 00:57:45.199 --> 00:57:51.199 great Magnate himself proclaimed Mary Queen. He hoped his about face would earn himself 625 00:57:51.199 --> 00:57:54.920 a pardon. He received an immediate reply. He was to disarm his men 626 00:57:55.000 --> 00:58:00.039 and await further instructions. Mary, for her part, knew little of what 627 00:58:00.079 --> 00:58:06.320 was happening as events continued to spiral. When she did receive word of Northumberland's 628 00:58:06.480 --> 00:58:12.239 capitulation, she was overjoyed. Her first act was to erect a permanent crucifix 629 00:58:12.280 --> 00:58:15.719 on the wall of the residency she happened to be occupying, in an early 630 00:58:15.800 --> 00:58:20.719 sign of things to come to Mary, this was nothing less than the will 631 00:58:20.760 --> 00:58:24.960 of God. Manifested, she would restore England to the true faith, or 632 00:58:24.960 --> 00:58:30.320 she would die trying. Now, back in the tower, Jane was despondent. 633 00:58:31.000 --> 00:58:35.840 She never wanted the crown now, no doubt. Holding back tears, 634 00:58:36.159 --> 00:58:38.039 she wrote to her father and the Duke of Suffolk that she was going to 635 00:58:38.079 --> 00:58:43.639 abdicate now as a quick aside. Remember, Jane Gray is technically the right 636 00:58:43.679 --> 00:58:49.239 trivia answer for the question who was the shortest serving English monarch? She was 637 00:58:49.320 --> 00:58:54.599 queen for nine days. On the third of August fifteen fifty three, Mary 638 00:58:54.639 --> 00:59:00.960 made her triumphal entry into London. Five days later, her half brother was 639 00:59:00.000 --> 00:59:07.440 finally laid to rest in Westminster. Despite some initial fears of vengeance, Mary 640 00:59:07.519 --> 00:59:13.000 issued a blanket pardon for all those who had supported Jane, except Northumberland, 641 00:59:13.159 --> 00:59:17.639 that is, and sadly Jane herself. Northumberland was brought to trial on charges 642 00:59:17.679 --> 00:59:23.119 of treason and convicted to a sentence of death. Jane met the same fate. 643 00:59:23.960 --> 00:59:28.039 Arriving at Tower Hill, Northumberland, was the first to proceed through the 644 00:59:28.039 --> 00:59:31.880 scaffold. Throwing off his gown, he leant upon its east rail. He 645 00:59:31.960 --> 00:59:37.719 confessed how he had been quote an evil liver, and having done wickedly all 646 00:59:37.760 --> 00:59:42.280 the days of my life, and of all most against the Queen's highness end 647 00:59:42.360 --> 00:59:45.760 quote. He asked for forgiveness, and then fell on his knees, claiming 648 00:59:45.800 --> 00:59:51.920 he was not the original doer of his treason. There were others, but 649 00:59:52.000 --> 00:59:55.840 he refused to name them. Instead, he placed the blame for his fall 650 00:59:55.920 --> 01:00:02.159 elsewhere upon the quote false and sedition preachers end quote. He believed that they 651 01:00:02.199 --> 01:00:07.320 had led him to denounce the true Catholic faith. Exalting this one faith, 652 01:00:07.760 --> 01:00:13.119 he rounded upon the arrogance of those who had believed that Edward's reign heralded a 653 01:00:13.119 --> 01:00:17.199 new start, saying, quote, for I pray you since the death of 654 01:00:17.320 --> 01:00:22.199 King Henry the eighth into What misery we have been brought, What open rebellion, 655 01:00:22.480 --> 01:00:27.880 what sedition? What great division has been brought throughout the whole realm. 656 01:00:28.119 --> 01:00:31.840 For God hath delivered us up to our own sensualities, and every day we 657 01:00:31.880 --> 01:00:37.920 wax worse and worse. End quote. He asked forgiveness for all that he 658 01:00:37.960 --> 01:00:44.000 had offended. He thanked Mary in particular for his mercy. It was all 659 01:00:44.039 --> 01:00:49.519 in all an impressive delay. Northumberland had acted the model of repentance, and 660 01:00:49.679 --> 01:00:53.760 many were apparently swayed by his words. The speech was later printed by the 661 01:00:53.760 --> 01:00:59.639 government in English, French and Latin to be distributed across Europe, and a 662 01:00:59.679 --> 01:01:05.480 concern effort to persuade Protestants to return to the Catholic fold. The Duke then 663 01:01:05.800 --> 01:01:09.320 recited a prayer and a psalm out of the deep. I have called unto 664 01:01:09.360 --> 01:01:14.360 thee O Lord, Lord, hear my voice. Oh, let thine ears 665 01:01:14.400 --> 01:01:17.679 consider well the voice of my complaint. If thou Lord will be extreme to 666 01:01:17.719 --> 01:01:22.840 mark what is done, amiss O Lord, who may abide it? For 667 01:01:22.000 --> 01:01:27.960 there is mercy with you. Therefore shalt thou be feared. I look for 668 01:01:28.039 --> 01:01:31.480 the Lord. My soul doth wait for him in his word is my trust. 669 01:01:32.039 --> 01:01:37.159 My soul fleeth unto the Lord before the morning watch. I say, 670 01:01:37.519 --> 01:01:42.800 before the morning watch. If he still held out for a last reprieve, 671 01:01:42.840 --> 01:01:45.440 and part of me thinks a lot of this is an effort to get a 672 01:01:45.480 --> 01:01:50.679 final reprieve from Mary, it would appear clear that there wasn't going to be 673 01:01:50.760 --> 01:01:57.320 one. Taking off Northumberland's jerkin and doublet the executioner handed him their necker sheef. 674 01:01:57.960 --> 01:02:01.599 He placed his head on the block all over with one stroke of the 675 01:02:01.639 --> 01:02:07.599 acts. His bones were taken, ironically to the same graveyard that held the 676 01:02:07.599 --> 01:02:12.199 bones of the man who had fought so hard for the right to rule before 677 01:02:12.280 --> 01:02:17.400 him, the Lord Somerset. Interestingly, there was another set of bones in 678 01:02:17.480 --> 01:02:22.239 that same graveyard, a certain Anne Boleyn, whose daughter we will finally get 679 01:02:22.239 --> 01:02:28.480 to meet in the next few episodes. Henry the sixth has one of the 680 01:02:28.599 --> 01:02:34.079 shorter reigns in all of English history in terms of monarchs. But I don't 681 01:02:34.079 --> 01:02:39.079 think that we can understate the importance of his reign for one second. And 682 01:02:39.119 --> 01:02:44.320 that's because, as I've mentioned several times, upon the death of Henry the 683 01:02:44.400 --> 01:02:47.360 Eighth in fifteen forty seven, it really wasn't clear which way England was going 684 01:02:47.440 --> 01:02:52.159 to go religiously. Henry had walked a fine line. Sure he had created 685 01:02:52.199 --> 01:02:55.440 the Church of England, but at the same time a lot of the doctrine 686 01:02:55.480 --> 01:03:01.760 remained essentially Catholic under Edward the sixth in the six years that he is king, 687 01:03:01.840 --> 01:03:07.400 but really others rule in his name. The situation is one hundred percent 688 01:03:07.400 --> 01:03:12.079 transformed by the time it's over. The English Book of Common Prayer is in 689 01:03:12.159 --> 01:03:16.119 place, Altars have been taken down, churches have been whitewashed, stained glass 690 01:03:16.199 --> 01:03:22.239 windows have been removed. England is effectively Protestant. Now that doesn't mean there 691 01:03:22.239 --> 01:03:28.480 aren't pockets of Catholic resistance. There are plenty, and we'll see them flare 692 01:03:28.559 --> 01:03:32.920 up big time in the coming episodes. But the reality is that in fifteen 693 01:03:34.000 --> 01:03:37.039 forty seven you might have turned back the clock, but as Mary is going 694 01:03:37.079 --> 01:03:42.519 to find out, in fifteen fifty three, there simply was no going back. 695 01:03:44.519 --> 01:03:50.239 And so, with all that being said, next time, Bloody Mary