Edward VI, the son for whom Henry VIII had moved heaven and earth, became king of England at the age of nine. “God’s imp” was intelligent with scholarly tastes and a Protestant zeal that benefited the council of regency that governed in his name, but he had been overprotected and coddled as Prince of Wales. The walls and floors of his apartment were washed down three times a day to protect him from disease and his food was carefully prepared by servants appointed to tend to his every need. Great care, however, had to be taken with royal children, given the frightening rate of mortality for youngsters in Tudor England. Edward was slight of build, pale-complected with auburn hair, and although he manifested a slightly deformed shoulder he was not a sickly child. Though never rambunctious, Prince Edward completely recovered from a bout of fever in 1541 and was an active boy. His first love was intellectual pursuit, but he participated in fencing, horsemanship, and hunting despite increasing short-sightedness.

Edward’s tutor from 1544 was John Cheke, classical scholar and humanist of the first rank. An early devotee of Protestant doctrine at Cambridge, in 1540 Cheke became Henry VIII’s first Regius Professor of Greek at that university and under his influence Cambridge became the center of the “New Learning” in England. He lived on a pension in lieu of a canonry and devoted himself to educating the prince. A strong bond of affection existed between them and at Edward’s accession Cheke was granted a number of royal favors including a knighthood and the post of Provost of King’s College, Cambridge. Cheke, one of the most erudite men of his generation, would also play an important role in effecting religious changes in the new reign.

During the final months of Henry VIII’s life, a clique of lords with Protestant sympathies emerged as the dominant faction at court. When Henry made his will in December 1546, he left the government in the hands of a Council of Regency composed of sixteen men equal in status and commanded them to rule jointly in Edward’s name until he came of age. He also instructed his son to esteem these “entirely beloved” executors and assist them in their charge.