While My Lady Jane is alternate history, there are some elements of the story that are based on real life. What about the poisoning of King Edward VI. Did someone really attempt to kill the 16-year-old King of England?
In the very first episode of My Lady Jane, Edward learned from his dog-turned-woman that he was being poisoned. The dog lived with him, but she was an Ethian, which is a version of a shapeshifter in this universe. The woman shared that Edward’s great-grandmother came to tell him that he was being poisoned rather than suffering from the affliction.
It started a storyline of who would want Edward dead. But what about in real history? Was Edward VI really poisoned, or did he die of natural causes?
The real cause of death of King Edward VI from My Lady Jane
Young Prince Edward Tudor was Henry VIII’s only surviving, legitimate son. He was strong as a baby, which delighted Henry. After all, Henry has lost sons at a young age, including an illegitimate one. Sadly, Edward wouldn’t remain healthy.
When he was just nine years old, Henry VIII died and Edward became King of England. Of course, he had regents who would make decisions for him, even when he was 15 years old and had more of an understanding of the world.
It was by the time he was 15 that he started to struggle with his health. In January 1553, he came ill with a fever and a cough. There were many attempts to heal him, but it wasn’t meant to be. By the spring of that year, it was clear that Edward would not recover. With the fear that Mary would overturn all the steps to reformation Edward made, Edward decided that he did need to change the line of succession. He passed over his half-sisters and turned to putting his protestant cousin Lady Jane Grey on the throne instead.
Edward died on July 6, 1553. He was just 15 years old. There were rumors that Edward had been poisoned, but there was never any evidence of that. Some suggested that Lord Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was responsible for that. Others looked at the Catholics, believing that they wanted Mary on the throne and killed the Protestant king.
When a surgeon opened Edward’s chest, he found evidence of a disease of the lungs. His cause of death has been put down as consumption, which was the name given to TB at the time. This is the diagnosis that many historians agree with. There were signs when he was alive that he may have had acute bronchopneumonia, which may have led to septicemia or kidney failure.
It’s unlikely that Edward was poisoned, but I guess not completely out of the realm of possibility. It certainly made My Lady Jane entertaining for Edward’s storyline.