On December 26, 1546, Henry VIII made some changes to his will, designed to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power when he died, and to set up his son Edward’s minority rule. The changes he added included changes of titles, and the confirmation of the men who would serve in the minority council when his son was young. He also added the Suffolk line, the children of his sister Mary with Charles Brandon, to his will. This is what would pave the way for Edward VI to name his cousin Lady Jane Grey as his heir several years later as he was dying.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th-century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested links:
Episode 012: The final years of Henry VIII’s reign
Episode 169: Henry’s Inventory
From the shop:
Henry VIII Collection
Featuring: Henry VIII Clover Canvas Tote Bag
Note: All products are made on-demand and can take a few weeks to ship.
Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop.
She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 30 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history (how exciting when she got to interview Alison for the first time!). In addition to history, she is passionate about travel, and has lived in 3 countries and 4 states (not counting her perpetual state of confusion), and her family (who help her host her YouTube channel occasionally).
