Chapter 6 The King's Passing
In late autumn, the weather is cloudy. The sycamore trees in front of the Duke of Norfolk's mansion have withered, red and yellow, overlapping layers, giving off a different flavor.
Thomas Howard, the owner of the duke's mansion who owns more than a hundred acres, is writing something with candles in his study, and anyone who can read will be surprised if he sees it.
"Dear Sir John Flowerdu, our efforts still haven't changed His Majesty's willingness to tamper with God's decree!" The Duke thought for a while, as if he had made up his mind, and wrote through gritted teeth.
"So, we decided to use force to make God favor the whole of England again. I hope you can mobilize the local gentlemen to support us!"
The Duke of Norfolk wrote very excitedly, and his long-term depressed mood seemed to be about to burst out, imagining that Henry VIII would step down from the throne and the Howard family would become the masters of England.
Suddenly, the silent air was suddenly cut off by something.
There was an urgent knock on the door, and a slightly vicissitudes of voice sounded, "Your Honor! Why are you bothering the Duke of Norfolk's mansion?" The voice suddenly became severe again.
"Don't you know what crime it is to harass a lord duke's rest without reason?" The lord duke recognized the voice of his butler Andrew.
"Oh no! My lord, I'm here following His Majesty's will!" The young voice was mellow, but suddenly stiffened again.
Andrew choked to death when he heard that it was the king's will.
Since the War of the Roses in the previous generation, the king's strength has grown tremendously, and the nobles can no longer fight against the king.
Wars of the Roses: This war was mostly fought by armies of horse knights and their feudal entourage. Supporters of the House of Lancaster were mainly in the north and west of the country, while supporters of the House of York were mainly in the south and east.
The massive casualties of the nobles caused by the War of the Roses (about 65 nobles above the baron, thousands of small and medium feudal lords, and more than 80,000 family soldiers) were one of the main reasons for the weakening of the feudal power of the nobles, which led to the Tudor dynasty. The development of a strong centralized monarchy.
In fact, according to the statistics of later generations, in 1600, there were only 61 Lords in England. In 1546 now, there are probably less than 50 nobles with titles.
The Tudor dynasty is different from the European continent relying on aristocratic rule. What he can rely on is a group of local gentlemen to rule.
In England from the 16th to the 17th centuries, there was no resident local government, only resident gentry, and they provided voluntary services.
The squire's self-government is loosely connected with the central government in London, and relies more on the relationship between people.
That is to say, this is a social governance method centered on localism, linked by traditional cultural customs, and managed by gentry who voluntarily take up public office.
To put it bluntly, it means that the local gentry are allowed to govern themselves, the judicial power is vested in the central government, and those who do not pay their wages are vain, and the royal power does not go to the countryside.
Back to the topic, the Duke of Norfolk heard this, and hurriedly lit the credit candle that had just been half written.
The young Judge Jackson pushed away Butler Andrew and went straight into the study.
"Kang Dang!" The door was opened roughly by the judge, and the young face faced the Duke directly, "Dear Duke, please come with us!"
Jackson did not dare to treat the Duke like a butler, because the nobles were connected online and offline, who knows when he will be able to come out again.
In fact, this is indeed the case. Less than an hour after the Duke of Norfolk was taken away, three waves of nobles came to ask for help, which made Henry VIII feel helpless. Can only be locked up.
The king's sanity is sometimes clear, sometimes confused, and his whole body is aching and weak.
Edward was very powerless about this. He was just a liberal arts student in his previous life, never studied medicine, and only knew some common medical knowledge.
Even though he only lived with Henry VIII for more than five years, Edward received no less paternal love than others, so Edward felt as sad as Elizabeth and the others.
1547, January 28, Whitehall Palace, Windsor Castle.
Whitehall Palace, also known as Whitehall, was the main residence of the British king in London from 1530 to 1698. Located in London, England, at what is now Whitehall Street.
At this time, the Tudor royal family has moved to Whitehall Palace, to be precise, Henry VIII, Edward, the eldest princess Mary, and the second princess Elizabeth.
The entire palace was silent, and the maids walked even softer, not daring to breathe heavily, and the atmosphere seemed very depressed.
In the king's bedroom, Queen Catherine Parr sat beside Henry VIII's bed, sobbing softly.
In 1543, the old Henry married Catherine Parr, who served in the court, as his sixth wife.
Catherine Parr is a twice-married widow with radical religious views, while Henry is a conservative. The two argued frequently, nearly costing her life a few times, but she always backed down in time.
Under the influence of the queen, Henry reconciled with his two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. Catherine Parr took good care of Henry's children Mary, Elizabeth and Edward, giving them a good education. She also took good care of Henry, who was ailing and easily irritable in his later years.
So everyone in the palace respected this gentle and virtuous queen, and only she and Edward could dissuade Henry VIII, who was furious in his later years.
His Majesty the king on the bed had his eyes tightly closed, but he opened them suddenly, and his snow-white face also turned rosy.
The people in the room were not only not happy but became even more sad. Most people know that people who are dying will have the phenomenon of returning to life, and this is what His Majesty the King is doing now.
"Planck, remember what I'm about to say!" The king said to the clerk next to him in a confident voice.
"Yes, Your Majesty the King!" The clerk responded with grief.
"After my death, the throne will be inherited by Edward, Duke of Cornwall, or, if he has no heirs, by Mary."
The king didn't worry about Edward's embarrassment, and immediately said: "If Mary is still childless, Elizabeth will inherit the throne!"
Also considering Edward's age, "Edward Seymour, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, Earl of Warwick John Dudley... form the Regency Committee!" until Edward was nineteen."
The king seemed to have exhausted all his strength, so he lay down directly.
The ministers in the room were discussing one after another, and the king gave them a difficult problem and created a brand-new regency system.
Edward Seymour next to him suddenly smiled. He is Edward's uncle, a Protestant, and a triple jumper.
Suddenly, a little maid tried the king's nose with her hand, and then she took it back suddenly, shouting: "God has taken His Majesty the King!"
The tears that Edward had been holding back flowed uncontrollably all over his immature face.
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(end of this chapter)