King at 9 and dead at 15, Edward VI oversaw a brief but dramatic chapter in English history.

Described by his father as his "most precious jewel", Edward’s birth in 1537 marked the end of Henry VIII’s quest to procure a son and heir to continue the Tudor dynasty.

But even kings can’t choose their destiny, and the boy’s premature demise prevented the intelligent, ambitious, and strong-minded youth’s potential from being fulfilled.

Reliant on councillors to govern the kingdom on his behalf, his reign was not a happy time.

Marred by factionalism, economic hardship, religious discord, and social unrest, Edward’s kingship very nearly plunged the kingdom into civil war and set the stage for one of the most dramatic succession crises in world history.

A stubborn and opinionated child by the time he entered his teens, he expected his views to be listened to, and his time on the throne marked a critical turning point in England’s religious culture. A devotee of the Protestant Reformation, Edward VI is now perhaps best remembered for laying the foundations of the present-day English church.

What’s more, his story is living proof that fact is stranger than fiction - packed full of betrayal, bloodshed, and seesawing fortunes.