Hello, and welcome to Western CIV Episode two hundred and eighty one the air.
All right, well, if you're tired of science, good news,
we're heading back to political history. If you're not, also good news.
Scientific history becomes a larger portion of our show from here on out. So
if we go back about six months now in time, prior to our episodes
on the Scientific Revolution, you might recall that we left Europe really after the
death of four monarchs, four autocrats, Henry the Eighth, Francis the First,
Charles the Fifth, and Suleyman the Magnificent. These four men absolutely dominated
Europe for the first half of the sixteenth century. But now our story changes
dramatically. Instead of long reigning powerful monarchs, our story shifts to a series
of weak and young rulers who, with the exception of Philip the Second of
Spain, tend to die quickly, leaving repeated power vacuums. Often these vacuums
come at difficult times, as Europe now transitions from the early Reformation to the
age of religious wars. France is about to irrupt into sectarian violence. The
Thirty Years' War is but moments away, and England, where we will begin
today is about to experience some serious religious whiplash. I'm going to do my
best to tell the story of the second half of the sixteenth century as coherently
as possible while still keeping everything moving forward. That will, however, require
some back and forth occasionally as I introduce new characters into our story. We're
going to begin in England, where Edward the sixth Regency follows Henry's long and
at least at the end, often troubled rain, as we will see beginning
today. At the death of Henry the Eighth, England's reformation remained very much
an open question, but by the close of Edward's brief rule there was no
going back. When Edward was born on October twelfth, fifteen thirty seven,
Henry the eighths twenty seven year wait for an heir had come to an end.
The English writer Richard Morrison reflects as follows, quote, we have a
prince. Can any man that dare to vouch himself to be a right Englishman
hear this and not feel within himself such a wonderful force, an inerirable strength
of gladness? Can his body be born in England and hear his heart not
leap for joy. Can there lie anyains so far so hid in a corner,
But it shall hear and feel the blood heated now much lighter to run,
even as though it were a carrier of this good news end quote.
In the Royal Collection in England, there's a painting called the Family of Henry
the Eighth. It was painted around fifteen forty five, so at the tail
end of Henry's reign we don't know by who. Henry is there sitting on
his throne beneath the royal canopy and the marble columns of Whitehall. To the
left is his deceased wife, Jane Seymour, who kneels, and to his
right is the sole male heir and child, Edward. Standing in the wings
of the chamber. Noticeably detached from the scene are Henry's two other daughters,
Mary and Elizabeth. They're both been proclaimed illegitimate in the complicated history of their
father's reign. The message here is clear. Nearing the end of his life,
Henry saw the future of the Tudor dynasty in the hands of his son,
the soon to be proclaimed Edward, the sixth. Catherine of Aragon and
Anne Boleyn had been painted out of history According to this painting, at least
Henry's only rightful queen was Jane, the matriarch of the dynasty. When he
died two years later, it was in his will we'll talk about that,
that he be buried next to Jane, and a monument was to be erected
above with carved effigies of them, as if quote sweetly sleeping end quote,
of all of his wives. Only she had done her duty. Only she
had provided him with the only thing that mattered, a son, Edward.
Henry joined her in the grave, assured that he had secured his dynasty with
the male heir he had craved so long. Henry's death was supposed to be
a sign that all was right with the world. Thanks to Edward's birth,
all was secure, England was stable and prosperous. After all, no one
wanted to return to the wars of the Roses. Note some of this is
about to be recapped from our Henry the Eighth episodes, but let's go ahead
and quickly get back up to speed. Henry the Eighth never underestimated the importance
of a male heir. It was a lesson that he learned at an early
age. The turn of fortune's wheel could be cruel, and it had been
when he was only ten years old. Then the sudden death of his older
brother Arthur back in April of fifteen oh two propelled Henry into the limelight.
Henry's life changed dramatically. He was never man to be king, nor had
he even been prepared for the sensitive and mild mannered young child. A career
in the church was probably what was ahead of him now as a Prince of
Wales and the sole male heir of the Tudor dynasty. It was kept so
closely guarded that a Spanish envoy remarked how he might have been a girl locked
away in his chamber and only allowed to speak when answering his father. Arthur's
death was a devastating blow for his father, Henry the Seventh. His victory
over Richard Third at the Battle of bosworth Field back in fourteen eighty five had
unequivocally seemingly ended half a century of civil war, known as as I mentioned,
the Wars of the Roses. Yet, if we'll remember, throughout Henry
the Seventh reign, new claimants to the throne kept springing up, challenging his
legitimacy For fifteen years, Henry battled for his new dynasty to be recognized by
the ruling empires of Europe. He married his oldest son, Arthur, to
Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, the rulers of powerful
Spain. Nevertheless, Henry had always struggled to fit in amongst his own subjects,
and particularly his nobility, the ruling families, around whom they were about
fifty and upon whose support the monarch was largely dependent. We have to remember
that Henry the seventh wasn't raised in England. He was raised in Brittany,
part of France. He was an outsider who brought with him new styles of
government from overseas, and was considered to be many a royal pain in the
butt. He scrutinized every single payment that went through his chamber with his own
hand for what it was worth. Henry's penny pinching earned him little respect in
fewer friends. As I mentioned before, he is the only early mind or
an English monarch not to get a play from Shakespeare. With only one male
heir to fall back on and a child at that, Henry knew that the
tutor name was seriously under threat. Yet worse still was to come the following
year, when his wife, Queen Elizabeth, died in childbirth attempting to deliver
another precious son. The Tudor dynasty hung dangerously by the thread of his only
son's life. With no other male heirs, extinction of the royal line loomed
close, and behind that a return to civil war. The effects of all
of this upon the young mind of Henry the Eighth I don't think we can
overstate, for when he came to the throne six years later, about eighteen
years old, he was determined never to repeat his father's mistakes. Now,
the only good news for Henry and England was that Arthur's death meant Henry gained
a wife, Catherine American, Arthur's widow. Almost immediately, Catherine became pregnant
with Henry's child and gave birth to a boy named Henry on January the first,
fifteen eleven, but the child lived only seven weeks. The next time,
it took a lot longer for Catherine to become pregnant. Still, in
fifteen sixteen, she gave birth to a child who would finally live past infancy.
The only problem was that this child was a girl, whom the couple
named Mary. It was not long thereafter, however, that Henry initiated divorce
proceedings with Katherine, broke with Rome and married Anne Boleyn. Likewise, though,
Anne gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Elizabeth, but her failure
to produce a male air doomed anne fate as we know, and Ree quickly
took up with another wife, this one Jane Seymour. She became pregnant in
fifteen thirty seven. When her pregnancy reached its final stages in that year,
in September, the plague was raging in London, so Jane went into seclusion.
On October the twelfth, she gave birth finally to a healthy, relatively
speaking baby boy, Edward. The celebrations in London when the news hit the
streets carried on well into the night, and you can imagine why no one
wanted to go back to the wars of the Roses. On Monday, October
fifteenth, Edward was christened in the Royal Chamber at Hampton Court. Suddenly all
seemed right with the world. Celebrations at court continued for a week. In
his prolonged state of euphoria, and recreated six new Knights and raised Jane's brother,
Edward Seymour to the Earl of Ford. Yet, two days after the
christening, Jane fell seriously ill. Rejoicing now turned to prayer. On Friday,
the nineteenth of October, there was a general procession in Saint Paul's quote
for the health of the Queen end quote and re postponed a hunting trip that
was kind of a big deal for him. He had planned to mark the
start of the season, but only temporarily. Nevertheless, the doctors seemed hopeful
for Jane's recovery. If she survived the night, they believed she would be
quote past danger end quote. But this prognosis came too soon. On Wednesday,
the twenty third of October, Jane suffered what they called a quote natural
lax end quote most likely heavy bleeding. Throughout the night and into Thursday morning,
her condition worsened dramatically. She spent the morning with her confessor, who
now prepared to give her the last rites. At eight o'clock that same evening,
Henry rushed back to the chamber. The Duke of Norfolk wrote hurriedly to
Thomas Cromwell, demanding he get back to Hampton Court as fast as possible.
Quote to comfort our good master, For as our mistress, there is no
likelihood of her life. The more pity, and I fear she shall not
be alive at the time ye shall read this end quote. He was right
that night, and around midnight Jane died. News of the Queen's death provoked
a sense of national mourning on a scale not previously witnessed in Tutor England.
The aforementioned in the show, Richard Morrison, a pamphleteer with responsibility for government
propaganda, attempting to alleviate the sorrow of his fellow Englishmen, composed a quote
comfortable consolation wherein the people may see how far greater causes they have to be
glad for the birth of Prince Edward, then sorry for the death of Queen
Jane end quote. This contained a totally made up, fictitious seven page speech
from the queen quote as if she could speak to us end quote. This
included Jane's supposedly dying wish to the nation again. I'll read it to you,
but it's totally fabricated. I have left you me, babe, in
this nunnage. I shall think your love implied to the profit of mine heir
if you give it all to his father for Morris and even in death,
there was an advantage to be had, and he took it. After Jane's
body had been embalmed, she lay in state, crowned and bejeweled for about
three weeks, then finally, on November eighth, her coffin was interred in
Windsor. Of course, Edward was an infant and could not understand the ramifications
of any of us. He couldn't understand anything. He would later write in
his diary, however, that for the first six years of his life he
was raised quote among the women end quote. There's nothing unusual at all about
this during the early modern age, but it's worth pointing out how secluded Henry
kept his son, how little time he spent with him during his formative years.
Part of this is because of Jane's death, was because Henry was absolutely
terrified at the idea that something might happen to his son. Henry was,
of course a hypochondriac and certainly imprinted this paranoia onto his son. Security around
the Prince of Wales was the tightest it could have betten. For the pre
modern world, no one under the rank of Night was allowed to be an
Edward's presence. He could consume no food unless large quantities of it were first
eaten by several other people. His clothing was washed and then worn by someone
else before Edward could put it on. Despite Henry's concern, he was very
much an absent parent during his son's life. One record of a day visit
between Henry and Edward in May of fifteen thirty eight, but that's about it.
Rather, it was Mary, Edward's half sister, who took it upon
herself to visit her royal brother. Mary always showed genuine interest in Edward,
paying him visits in November fifteen thirty seven and then again in the spring,
visiting in March April and then again in May. Edward was now becoming a
toddler, paying a visit to his country nursery. The Lord Chancellor Thomas Audley
reported back to Cromwell that the Hertfordshire air was doing him good. It had
grown losing his baby fat end quote, waxeth firm and stiff end quote.
Edward could now stand unaided and would probably be able to walk soon. Nevertheless,
oddly approved of his care quote they do yet best, considering his grace
as yet tender, that he should not strain himself, as his own urge
would serve him till he come above a year of age end quote. The
prince was to be moved from his current residence before the winter set in to
which oddly fully agreed quote it would be a cold house in the winter,
though in summer it is good air end quote. For the next few years,
Edward's household led an itinerant journey through some of the many small royal palaces
and hunting lodges that Henry possessed on the outskirts of London. It was a
life devoted to leisure and enjoyment. On his removal to Hudson around Easter fifteen
forty, someone wrote to Cromwell informing him that she was accustomed to Edward's good
progress. She wrote, quote, my Lord, Prince Grace is in good
health. Mary. His grace danced and played so wantonly that he could not
stand still, and was as full of pretty toys as I ever saw a
child in my life end quote. Lady Mary continued her visit, spoiling her
brother with presence. Princess Elizabeth was less generous, though her gifts were no
less thoughtful. Edward's health continued to be a subject of close scrutiny. Every
waking hour of his life. He was carefully monitored by doctors who swarmed around
him, constantly checking his temperature and fussing over what he might or might not
eat. The Prince's health seemed good, with the French ambassador reporting in October
fifteen forty one that Edward was quote handsome, well fed, and remarkably tall
for his age end quote. But that very same month, Edward came down
with what was called quarantine fever, which was a form of malaria. Henry
became so distraught over the incident that even his appetite suffered. He was said
to be quote sad and disinclined for feasting end quote. In fear that he
might lose his only sol on, he anxiously summoned the best doctors from across
the country to discover a cure. For ten days, it was uncertain whether
Edward would survive. His rich and luxurious diet had not helped things. One
of the doctors who had been summoned to the royal court and had examined the
prince for the first time, told the French ambassador that Edward was quote so
gross and unhealthy that he could not believe, judging from what he could see
now, that he would live long and quote. Despite this rather gloomy prediction,
however, Edward threw off the illness, even though in April fifteen forty
two doctors continued to predict he would live a short life. Now desperate to
aid his son's recovery, King Henry sent his own personal doctor, a guy
by the name of William Butts, to Edward's side. Butts visited frequently,
and it was not long before his manners began to annoy the prince, who
was now confined to soups and broths and had a craving for meat. Edward's
spirits, however, quickly picked up and improved. Butts finally allowed Edward to
eat his coveted dish, which was so rich and almost immediately induced him to
vomit. But by now fed up with Butts fussing around him, Edward had
become impatient, telling the doctor to go away. It was a clear and
reassuring sign. But concluded that Edward's strengths were fully recovered and that his work
there was done Finally, in fifteen forty three, Edward was given a chance
to spend more time with his father. In the fall, his household was
mood into a house neighboring that of Henry's. That spring, Parliament passed another
Act of Succession, this time confirming the order of succession from Edward to Mary
and then finally Elizabeth. Henry had big plans for his son. The Scottish
King, James the Fifth, died in December fifteen forty two, three weeks
after his crushing defeat at Soloway Moss. Henry hoped to marry his son to
the infant Queen of Scotland Mary. As we already know, that was not
to be. As I mentioned more on Mary, Queen of Scots later,
in April fifteen forty four, however, the Scottish Parliament rejected union with England
and instead renewed its old alliance with France. Henry was enraged. He immediately
ordered Edinburgh put to the sword, and the rough wooing of Scotland had begun.
By the summer of fifteen forty four, Edward finally moved into Hampton Court
for the first time. An official court would be established around him. Edward
was now six years old, entering his first state of manhood. This also
marked the beginning of his formal education. Richard Cox was appointed his tutor,
with John Checkie as his deputy. Edward's tutors would be a major source of
contention in the years to come. Now, in Henry's eyes, his son
was already the greatest king in Christendom. Parents, however, see what they
want to see. Sometimes I can certainly attest to that. It was also
now that Edward started to make some lifelong friends. Notable among them were Charles
Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk, and Barnaby Fitzpatrick. Both men would be
major influences over the young prince throughout much of his regency. We know Edward
enjoyed music and singing. Katherine Parr, Henry's final wife, encouraged Edward's humanist
education, and she's also going to continue to be a key player in our
story moving forward. In fact, you could make the argument that the most
most important of Henry's wives was one of those who did not give him a
child, Catherine Parr. She would outlive the old king and be one of
those with an inordinate influence over Edward going forward. By fifteen forty six,
Edward had matured into a diligent student. He would remain so throughout his life,
and I certainly wonder whether he would have preferred the life of a scholar
to that of a prince. Away from his studies, Edward continued to enjoy
a strong relationship with his sisters. Elizabeth, in fact, may have joined
him in some of his studies, but according to all the records, Edward
preferred the company of his older sister Mary. Edward was always protective of his
oldest sister, even when she vexed him. Edward begged Mary to stop hearing
Mass at one point, not that it mattered. Edward's strong Protestant opinion still
had yet to form. For the moment, his beliefs still revolved around the
Catholic faith. He attended Mass and walked through rooms adorned with sacred images.
Now, finally, in fifteen forty six, Henry decided that Edward should perform
his first official state duty. He would receive a French ambassador. It was,
of course a good decision. Henry had less than one year to live.
The final year of Henry's life was one of desperate uncertainty. The king
in control to the last had become incredibly unstable. His heightened by the continuous
pain from vericos ulcers and his legs. Unable to walk, he was carried
about by trams that shuttled him up and down the corridors of Westminster Palace,
and he suffered from frequent bouts of fever. It was clear to everyone that
Henry's reign was coming to an end. No one could be sure which direction
events might take. As we know, the court began to fracture into a
veritable kaleidoscope of alliances, broadly forming into two separate factions. On the one
hand, we have the Conservatives, espoused the traditional values of the Catholic religion
and were embodied in the Howards Thomas, Duke of Norfolk and his son Henry,
the Earl of Surrey. Up against them was I guess what we would
call the Evangelical faction. These were mostly new men who had risen up through
the court as a result of Henry's favor, men like Edward Seymour, Earl
of Hereford, and the rising courtier John Dudley, and of course the King's
Royal secretary William Paget. These bonds were by no means static, and alliances
were subject to change, much on the basis of personality as any sincerely held
belief. There was, however, one common aim in everyone's mind. Whoever
gained access to the dying Henry sought not only to influence his judgment during this
reign, but to control his son in the next. Everything was to play
for At the beginning of the year, it seemed like the Conservatives had the
upper hand, and there were rumors all over the place that Henry might even
return to the papal obedience. There was a plot engineered to bring down Catherine,
thought to be an evangelical, attempting to persuade Henry that she was a
heretic, But this all fell on deaf ears, and Henry suddenly made another
of his spectacular about faces, telling an astonished Cranmer that he wished to see
the mass abolished within six months. But what or who had made him change
his mind? Henry's reluctant decision to abandon his hopes of conquest and military glory
in France almost certainly had something to do with it. The end of the
war brought with it the return of two of Henry's favorite courtiers, and companions,
the aforementioned Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, and John Dudley. Edward
Seymour's position amongst the nobility was unique. He was the older brother of the
deceased Jane Seymour, and therefore the Prince's uncle. The King held him in
close regard, raising him to an earldom in fifteen thirty seven. Seymour could
be proud, tactless, and lacking in popularity. Often he alienated his fellow
courtiers, particularly members of the older nobility, who regarded him as an upstart.
But no one could deny that Seymour was a brilliant soldier, renowned for
excellent military leadership. Unlike Seymour, Dudley could not count on family ties for
influence. His father, Edmund Dudley, had been one of Henry the Seventh's
deeply unpopular chief ministers, and was executed for treason upon the ascension of Henry
the eighth. At that time, John Dudley was only six years old,
adopted by Sir Edward Guilford, who persuaded the king to reverse the act of
attainter against the Dudley family and had his property returned. Two years later,
Dudley then slowly found favor at court, and by fifteen forty two he had
been elevated to the nobility. His military reputation, both at land and sea,
continued to excel, culminating in his appointment as Lord Admiral in March of
fifteen forty six. Edward Seymour wrote admiringly of Dudley to the King quote I
can do no less than to recommend him unto your Highness, as one that
has served you heartily, wisely, diligently, painfully and obediently as any as
I have seen end quote. Once they returned from France, Seymour and Dudley
immediately took their places as the King's closest advisor, holding the King's ear as
they whiled away hours playing cards. Neither probably cared much either way about the
direction that religion might take. They were perfectly content to follow whatever course Henry
chose, But it was the threat of the Howards, their great political rivals,
that ultimately drove them into the evangelical camp. Both realized that if they
were to secure their political survival into Edward's reign, it would be impossible not
to choose sides. Fortunately, both men had a common ally, Sir William
Paget, the King's secretary, whose reputation for secrecy and political maneuver would later
earn him the title the Master of Practices, and it was to him they
turned for a solution. Naturally, Paget already had a plan in mind to
bring about the final downfall of the Howards. While the elder Howard was powerful
and probably untouchable, his son, Henry Earl of Surrey, was a brash
and volatile young man, confident that he could always fall back on his exalted
family background. But Surrey's foolhardiness on the battlefield in France had cost him his
position as a lieutenant of the King's forces and probably more importantly, the King's
favor. Bitter and resentful that his inferiors, whom he deemed Seymour and Dudley,
should be promoted above him, Surrey grumbled to a friend, how quote
these new erected men would, by their wiles, leave no noblemen on life
end quote. As the Evangelicals grew ever more powerful at court, Surrey's behavior
merely alienated him even further from his enemies, fast becoming a scapegoat. He
was unaware of the forces being ranged against him. He even wrote to Paget
addressing him as his friend, and later attempted to win his support by offering
him the position of Chancellor. Paget had other ideas in mind, though,
As early as fifteen forty five, he had been sending Seymour letters urging him
to befriend others at court, particularly those who had valuable personal contact with Henry.
Soon, with the Secretary's help, Seymour presided at the head of a
faction determined to imprint their dominance upon the court in spite of any who opposed
them. Despite the fact that all signs pointed to the rise of the evangelical
faction within Henry's court, nothing could be taken for granted. Henry had seemed
to favor the reform movement in the past, only to backtrack at the last
moment. But in October fifteen forty six, the Conservatives, led by the
Howard, finally lost control over the Privy Chamber to the Evangelicals. This seemed
like the turning point at last. In December of that year, the Council
began abandoning the ailing King altogether, meeting in Seymour's House instead. Around that
time there was already talk that quote there will be a change of religion in
England and the King will take up the Gospel of christ end quote. While
the chance was there, I mean, there was every opportunity for Henry to
change his mind again. Paget, Seymour and the other evangelicals decided to strike
first and secure their dominance of court, finally bringing the end to the Conservative
faction. They had good reason to be optimistic, for they had been aided
now to the defections of Chancellor Thomas Risley and Richard Southwell to their cause.
Both men were Catholics. However, they realized which way the wind was blowing,
and was often the case during the twists and turns of the Reformation,
religious allegiances just become subordinated to the desire for power. Though they were Catholics,
the two men were welcomed into the fold, for between them they had
what the evangelicals have been looking for, evidence that would destroy the Earl of
Surrey and finally bring down the Howards. On December the second, Southwell told
the Council he had information concerning the Earl of Surrey quote that touched the fidelity
to the king end quote. Surrey was arrested and taken for examination at Riversley's
house, while the Howard family home at Kennington, Norfolk was raided at the
King's agents in a quest for evidence. What they discovered there, they claimed,
was undoubted proof that Southwell was correct, for its walls had been newly
decorated with heraldic badges displaying the letters H and R on either side of a
broken pedestal with the royal arms in the top. In an age when visual
imagery was a vivid representation of meaning an intent, this, the government claimed,
could be taken as nothing less than treason. HR stood for Henricus Rex,
with the broken pillar a representative of the ruined Commonwealth, vanished by the
to Orders but restored under the Howards. Surrey later denied the charge, claiming
that the pillar represented his own noble house broken by the kings Might, with
the HR standing for Hereditus Estadt, but no one believed him. Besides,
fresh investigations had discovered that Surrey had taken to quartering his arms in his heraldic
shield with those of Edward the Confessor. In effect, he was claiming that
the Howards had as equal acclaimed the throne as the tutors themselves, although told
by the Herald Garter, King of Arms that it was not his honor to
do so, Surrey refused to listen. Surrey's sister recalled how the Earl had
worn quote a cap of maintenance purple with a crown and underneath the arms of
the cipher, which she took to be the King's cipher. H R.
Close friend further admitted that Surrey had told him his father was quote most meet
to rule the prince end quote. But in the end, it was the
testimony of Surrey's sister that her brother had urged her quote to delight the king
and quote with sexual favors in an attempt to control him, that put the
verdict beyond any reasonable doubt. By the twelfth of December fifteen forty six,
the coup was nearly complete. Surrey and Norfolk were imprisoned in the Tower.
Surrey was tried on the thirteenth of January fifteen forty seven in the Great Hall.
He spoke from nine in the morning to five o'clock in the afternoon,
remaining proud to the last. He denied every charge, though a last minute
confession from his father in the tower sealed his fate. Found guilty, Surrey
was led back to the tower, ranting against the quote unquote conjured league had
destroyed him. He was executed six days later. King Henry had been horrified
by Surrey's actions and was reported to have been quote much perplexed end quote by
the whole affair. His health was declining. He now remained secluded in his
bedchamber, surrounded by only a few trusted courtiers. On the twenty fourth of
December fifteen forty six, he had spent three hours going through the accusations leveled
against Surrey. Knowing the end of his life was near, Henry must have
realized exactly what was at stake, for though he was not yet in the
grave, already the fate of his son was at risk. Too young to
rule himself, Edward would be an easy target for the unbridled ambitions of politicians
and courtiers, and he would remain so unless precise guidelines could be drawn up
on how a regency council should rule during this minority, And so Henry decided
to act. He would make one final last will and testament outlining his intentions
in full. This was exactly what Paget and the Evangelicals had been hoping for,
the chance to permanently exclude the Conservatives from government. For though Henry may
have believed that his own supremacy left him fully in control, the reality was
far different. Henry had now become a puppet in the hands of those closest
to him, his very thoughts and intentions manipulated with a subtlety that even the
most astute struggled to realize. In the event of the succession of a minor,
the fifteen thirty six Act of Succession had empowered Henry to name a council
of guardians appointed by his last will as his executors. The list had remained
unaltered since Henry last drew up his will upon his departure for France two years
earlier in fifteen forty four. But now all this was going to change.
For Henry told his attendants that he wanted to revise the list with certain names
quote he meant to have in and some he meant to have out end quote.
Going through the checklist, Sir Anthony Brown, the Master of the Horse
and a renowned Conservative, was the first to notice the change. Suddenly,
the name of Stephen Gardner, the Conservative Bishop of Winchester, had been removed.
Had he been forgotten that Henry had not forgotten Gardner, the bishop.
He had left him out deliberately, he told Brown, for he was so
stubborn that he thought no man would be able to control him. But Brown
did not take the hint and continued asking the King, quote have you not
yet done to molest me in this manner? And quote? Henry retorted,
threatening to throw Brown out of his bedchamber. Henry knew exactly what he was
doing. He had also removed the name of the Bishop of Westminster, since
he had been taught by Gardner. When the new list of executors was finally
completed, the men who would hold real power under the beginning of Edward's reign,
it read like a roll call of these, either supportive of or compliant
to Seymour and Pageant's faction. The new will, written out under Paget's dictation,
was ready by the thirtieth of December