Edward VI took after his father more than some people would like to admit. Unlike Mary and Elizabeth, Edward had always had an excellent relationship with his father. He saw him as an effective and good ruler and would have wanted to be just like him.

It is clear when looking at his heir presumptive that Edward VI was very much like his father. He had made the decision, at just the age of 15, that women couldn’t rule in their own right. This was only based on the short reign of Matilda centuries before. There had been no female in power since then, except the odd queen regent while the king was fighting battles overseas.

Edward VI needed to pass the throne onto a male but there wasn’t one. The next two in line were Mary and Elizabeth. After that, it was Frances Brandon and then her daughters, Jane, Katherine and Mary Grey. Frances was skipped over due to the fear that her husband would take the throne for himself. Katherine and Mary were also excluded from the throne. Edward made it clear that only Jane could be the next monarch. After her, it would go to her sons—if she had none, the next male in the line of succession.

Edward wasn’t even willing to see whether his half-sister, Elizabeth, would make a good queen. She was very much like Henry VIII and Edward VI, but also had Anne Boleyn’s stubbornness and quick wit.

However, there was never a bill passed by parliament. Henry VIII’s was still legally binding. Edward VI believed that he had the divine right and power to change Henry’s Act of Succession; just another bit of evidence that he was so similar to his father.