Another chip off the old block
Henry VIII’s successor, Edward VI, shared his father’s voracious appetite and volcanic temper
Henry VIII was overjoyed when his son, Edward, was born in October 1537. At last he had the male heir that he had craved for so long. Little wonder that he always referred to the infant prince as his “precious jewel”.
Henry commissioned Holbein to paint his son’s portrait (below). The finished work shows the prince dressed as a king in miniature, with a rattle in place of a sceptre. Edward is the image of his father, with the same small dark eyes and red hair. The painting bears the inscription: “Little one, imitate your father and be the heir of his virtue, the world contains nothing greater… Surpass him… and none will ever surpass you.” This neatly encapsulated what Henry expected of his son, and also echoes the self- confident inscription that he had commissioned for Holbein’s Whitehall mural. Edward was tasked with exceeding the achievements of his father, just as Henry had done.
As his childhood advanced, Edward grew ever more like his father. He even dressed like him, and his wardrobe was filled with sable furs and doublets of crimson velvet and black satin, decorated with buttons of Venice gold. Like Henry, he loved rich foods and one visitor to his nursery tactfully described him as “well fed”.
Edward had also inherited his father’s formidable temper. After recovering from an attack of malaria in 1541, the four-year- old prince shouted, “Go away, fool!” when one of his physicians fussed over him. On another occasion, he was said to have ripped a living falcon to shreds in a fit of rage at his tutor.
Edward was raised in the reformed faith and grew to be an intensely pious young man – exceeding even his father in this respect. But Henry ensured that his son’s curriculum would also include plenty of the sporting and martial activities that had dominated his own. Like his father and grandfather, in his leisure hours Edward loved gambling and music, and had his own troupe of minstrels to entertain him. He also shared enough of his father’s sense of humour to keep Henry’s favourite jester, Will Somer, in employment after he became king.
On 20 February 1547, Henry’s son was crowned Edward VI amid magnificent pomp and pageantry that called to mind the heyday of Henry VIII’s reign. According to John Foxe, although the new king was “but tender in years”, he had matured into a young man of whom his father would have been proud.