Three children, three faiths

Edward VI: the boy Protestant king

Jane Seymour's son Edward VI became king at the age of 9. He was a firm Protestant. During his reign the Church of England got its Book of Common Prayer, which set out the words to be said in church services. Some churches still use a version of it today.

Edward was never strong. He reigned for just over six years and died when he was only 15.

Edward was afraid his Catholic sister Mary would become queen, so just before he died he left the crown to his Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey. She was queen for only nine days before crowds who supported Mary pushed her out, and she was executed the following year. Because her reign was so short, and many said it wasn't lawful, lots of lists of English monarchs leave her out.

Mary I: "Bloody Mary"

Next came Mary I, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon. She was a devout Catholic. She took England back to the Catholic Church and persecuted Protestants (punished them cruelly for their faith). Nearly 300 people were burned to death, which is why she became known as "Bloody Mary". Her reign was short too: she died five years later.

Mary I married the Spanish prince Philip, who later became King Philip II of Spain, and while Mary was alive he even used the title King of England. More than thirty years later, the man who sent the Armada to attack England was Elizabeth I's former brother-in-law.

Elizabeth I: the queen who found a balance

Mary's half-sister Elizabeth I, the daughter of Anne Boleyn, became queen in 1558. She was a Protestant, and she made the Church of England the country's official church once again.

Her approach was clever. Everyone had to go to their local church, and the law fixed what services and prayers could be used. But she did not try to find out what people truly believed in private. In this way she steered a middle path between Catholics and the stricter Protestants, and kept England free of serious religious conflict. She never married.

Era contents: 1500 – 1600