Henry VIII waited and waited (and divorced and beheaded) for a son, and in 1537 he finally got one, thanks to Wife #3, Jane Seymour. This kid ended up dying at age 15, from what many historians believe was tuberculosis. His father was a tough act to follow, but what do we know about the boy-king? In brief …

When he ascended the throne, Edward VI was only nine years old. He wasn’t making any decisions at this time; rather, a man called a “protector” did it for him, since he wasn’t yet of age. As the only male heir, he was very overprotected from birth. Of course he only had the best educational training, and proved to be quite the King Artie McSmartie.

No ADHD candidate, Eddie was very patient for his age (or anyone’s age, for that matter) and loved to listen to long sermons in church. He was also fussy and rather full of himself, and could be a bit of a buzzkill. When his sister Mary was enjoying her 20s and dancing the day away, he told that saucy minx that all that frivolous dancing would damage her reputation. What a fun guy to be around. 

He didn’t exactly have the “powerful” image down-pat, as his father did. All the robes and feathers and codpieces in the world would not have changed the fact that Eddie was a skinny, scrawny, scrap o’nothing. Perhaps to overcompensate for that, he painted himself as one you don’t mess with. Take, for instance, the rumor that he’d flipped out on a poor falcon, plucking it alive and then tearing it up into four pieces. Again, not someone I’d friend on Facebook (He’d want me burned, anyway, since I’m Catholic).

Although England was still officially Catholic when he was born, the young king became a fanatical Protestant with the help of his protectors and teachers. He would yap on and on to others about Catholic heretics and fire and brimstone, and was probably quite a bore except that he was the king and wouldn’t mind hosting your own personal barbeque if you outwardly challenged his views on the Pope.

High on himself and quite the downer, young Eddie only ruled for six years anyway. Who knows what would have come from more Edward VI time? I much prefer the soap opera that began after his death, though, as Mary I, Jane, and Elizabeth I rounded out the Tudor time on the throne.