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Henry died in 1547. Though he was a gross and selfish tyrant he left his country more united and more
confident than before, and his reign was glorified by the Utopian vision of More, drawings of Holbein, poetry
and music of the Tudor court and other claims to greatness.
Henry VIII had destroyed the power of the Pope in England, but he didn't change the religious doctrine. He
appointed Protestants as guardians of the young Edward VI (1547-1553) and they carried out the religious
reformation.
After the death of Edward VI there was a highly unstable situation in the country. In his will which
contradicted his father's bequest, King Edward VI disinherited his sisters and proclaimed Lady Jane Grey the
Queen of England (1553). Jane Grey ruled only for nine days. But the people opposed her reign and supported
the claim of Mary, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon.