Edward VI of England half-sister Mary would jeopardise the English Reformation, and Edward's Council and officers had many reasons to fear it. Edward himself opposed Mary's succession, not only on religious grounds but also on those of legitimacy and male inheritance, which also applied to Elizabeth. He composed a draft document, headed "My devise for the succession", in which he undertook to change the succession, most probably inspired by his father Henry VIII's precedent. He passed over the claims of his half-sisters and, at last, settled the Crown on his first cousin once removed, the 16-year-old Lady Jane Grey, who on 25 May 1553
History of the English line of succession Wars of the Roses, Henry VI was forcibly deposed by his third cousin twice removed, Edward, Duke of York, who became Edward IV. On the day of Edward IV's deposition, 3 October 1470, the line of succession following agnatic primogeniture was; However, Edward IV was deposed, and the throne was restored to Henry VI, the previous monarch, during the period known as the Readeption of Henry VI. On the day of Henry VI's second deposition, 11 April 1471, the line of succession following agnatic primogeniture was: However, the English nobility again became frustrated with Henry's inability to rule competently, and