The English Reformation and the Puritans

From the unintentional promotion of reform under Henry VIII, we move on to consider the reigns of Edward VI, the only son of Henry, and Mary I, his oldest daughter. By the time of Henry's death (1547), the education of Edward and Elizabeth, his daughter to Anne Boleyn, was left to the reform-minded Katherine Parr, Henry's last wife. Their training occurred under the finest Protestant tutors, and the two pupils grew up as convinced evangelicals. Catholic Mary was an adult by this point (age 30) and was considered to be an illegitimate child from an annulled marriage. The misery this brought to her life would later stir a fiery response. For now, with the young Edward (age 9) on the throne, England was poised for an intentional Reformation.