Edward VI of England Edward VI of England Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, and England's first monarch to be raised as a Protestant. During his reign, the realm was governed by a regency council because he never reached his majority. The council was first led by his uncle Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (1547–1549), and then by John Dudley, 1st Earl of Warwick (1550–1553), from
Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon While still incarcerated, Edward translated "Benefizio di Cristo" ("The Benefit of Christ's Death") into the English language and dedicated the manuscript to Anne Stanhope, wife of the Lord Protector Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, uncle of King Edward VI. The Cambridge University Library contains a copy autographed by Edward VI himself. Courtenay may have intended this work as a gift of reconciliation to his royal cousin. Whatever benefits the translation may have brought him, release from the Tower of London was not among them. King Edward VI died on 6 July 1553. His designated heir, Lady Jane Grey, ascended