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
Britain's Real Monarch Britain's Real Monarch Britain's Real Monarch was a historical documentary presented by Tony Robinson first shown on Channel 4 on 3 January 2004. It has also been broadcast in Australia and in the United States. The documentary discusses the descendants of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, and their claim to the throne of England. The programme based its thesis on the centuries-old claim that Edward IV was illegitimate, born to Cecily, Duchess of York, by an English archer (surnamed Blaybourne by some) while her husband Richard was fighting elsewhere in France. The legitimacy of Edward IV was the subject of