3. A bit of a mess

At last, Henry VIII's wish could be fulfilled. He left the throne to his son. A male heir, just what he'd always wanted.

Well, it wasn't that simple, First of all, Edward VI was only 9 when he came to the throne. Real power was exercised by a Regency Council that was - and this may shock you - not massively competent and rather more concerned with its own interests than with the nation's. What's more, Edward was England's first definitively Protestant monarch. A second shock for you will be to discover that a zealot for the oher side could be just much of a vandal as his enemies on the other.

The illustration is a 19th century engraving of Edward VI, ©Georgios Kollidas/123RF.COM