Power, Ambition and Death – 1553
The final time that the Kingdom of England experienced three changes in power within the one year, 1553 saw the passing of Edward VI which lead to a series of events that ultimately lead to death, betrayal and once again the shifting of power throughout the monarchy.
Initiated by the passing of King Edward VI, England’s throne was handed down to Lady Jane Grey, a cousin of Mary. In a bid to continue Protestantism throughout the nation, in his final days King Edward VI questioned Mary’s right to the throne, passing it instead to her cousin. Despite the obvious public support for Mary to take the throne, Lady Jane ruled England for nine days, however was over thrown by Mary, who once in power commanded the execution of Lady Jane to ensure that her power remained.
Queen Mary I immediately worked to restore the Roman Catholic faith back to England. With her efforts seeing the restoration of old English law enforcing heresy against the church, Queen Mary I became known as ‘Bloody Mary’ whereby she oversaw the burning of 300 people at the stake for following beliefs contrary to the Roman Catholic faith.
Queen Mary I reigned England for five years, however suffered from an early death in 1558.
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Three Kings of 1936 – England’s latest occurrence of welcoming three separate Kings to the throne within one iconic year comes the Niue 2011 $5 Three Kings of 1936 Silver Proof. Available for purchase from www.downies.com, this eye-catching commemorative retails for $199.00.
