1553 succession crisis

A succession crisis arose in England in 1553 from an intractable personal and religious conflict between the Protestant King Edward VI and his older half-sister and heiress-presumptive, Mary, a Catholic.

The plan to remove Mary from the succession and replace her with a Protestant heir-presumptive from the younger Tudor branch had been in Edward's mind since December 1552. In June 1553, the terminally ill Edward, influenced by the regent John Dudley, named sixteen-year-old Jane Grey, great-granddaughter of Henry VII and daughter-in-law of John Dudley, as his successor. On July 6, 1553, Edward died, and three days later the Privy Council proclaimed Jane Grey Queen of England. Mary, anticipating the actions of the London authorities, fled to eastern England, proclaimed herself queen, and led an armed rebellion. By July 13, when John Dudley personally led a military operation against Mary, she had mobilized up to six thousand armed supporters. Not daring to attack the superior rebel forces concentrated at Framlingham Castle, Dudley retreated to Cambridge and ceased his resistance. The actions of the smaller forces of Jane Grey's supporters on land and sea, and the actions of Princess Elizabeth's detachment, did not affect the outcome of the conflict. On July 19, the Privy Council deposed Jane Grey and proclaimed Mary Queen. John Dudley surrendered without a fight, and his allies joined the victors. On August 3, Mary triumphantly entered London and took control of the country. A five-year period of Catholic Counter-Reformation began in England.^[1]

• 
  Edward VI: King of England and Ireland from January 28, 1547
• 
  John Dudley: Duke of Northumberland, regent under Edward VI from October 1549
• 
  Mary Tudor: Henry VIII's eldest daughter, Edward VI's heiress

The immediate victims of the July Crisis were John Dudley, Thomas Palmer, and John Gates,^[2] who were executed for treason. Jane Grey, her husband, and her father were executed six months later, after the defeat of Wyatt's Rebellion.