When King Henry VIII had his son, Edward VI, was he the 6th cuz he was the 6th Edward to ever be a king?

Question

I would think that if he was king after King Henry VIII (his dad)he would be Edward IX. What made him be a #6? Were there 5 King Edwards before? And does it mean that King Henry VIII wasn't necc. the 8th king? I guess I am confused how each king get their #.... Thank you all soooooooooo much!

Answer 1

Yes Edward VI was the sixth Edward on the throne, and Henry VIII was the eigth Henry on the throne.

The number is only to do with how many kings (or queens) have been on the throne with the same name, not how many have been on in total. Sometimes this will coincide for example Henry VIII's dad was Henry VII, which may cause some confusion.


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Hope that helps, Adam
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Answer 2

Britain numbers its kings and queens from the Norman invasion of 1066 thus William of Normandy became William I. There were many kings before then, including Edward "the Elder" - king from 899 to 924; Edward "the Martyr" - king from 975 - 978; and Edward "the Confessor" - king from 1043 to 1066.

The first person regarded as being King of England was Alfred the Great who started as king of Wessex but ruled England by his death. He was followed by his son Edward the Elder.
The pre-Norman kings were, with a couple missing
Alfred the great
Edward the elder
Athelstan
Edgar the Peaceful
Edward the Martyr
Ethelread the Unready
Cnut
Harold I
Hardicanute
Edward the Confessor
Harold II

None of these names counts in the canon of British monarchs so if there were another King Harold, he would not be Harold III.

Answer 3

I understand your confusion but the numerals are not for the number of kings (or queens) England (and later the UK) has had. It refers to the number of Monarchs that have had that particular name. Yes, he was Edward the Sixth because prior to him, England had had 5 kings called Edward. It's the same case with his father, Henry VIII. England had 7 kings called Henry before he became King. Edward's sisters ruled after him because he died young without producing an heir. His eldest sister Mary, became Mary I because she was the first Mary to become Queen of England and when she died childless, she was succeeded by her younger sister Elizabeth who became Elizabeth I as she was the first Elizabeth to become Queen of England.

After Edward VI, there have been 2 more kings called Edward - Edward VII (1901 - 1910), and Edward VIII (1936) who abdicated to marry and American divorcee and was made Duke of Windsor by his younger brother George VI (the father of the current Queen - Elizabeth II).

Answer 4

Yes. As the other respondents have said, there were five other Edwards before Henry's son, and seven other Henrys before Henry VIII. Edward VI came after the young king who was one of the Princes in the Tower, who would have reigned as Edward V.

Here's a list of English kings:
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/royalty/#Kings (alphabetical order)

Edward V:
http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/plantagenet_13.htm

Edward VI:
http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/tudor_6.htm

Answer 5

a monarch gets their number by how many other kings or queens (ruling, not consorts) with that name ruled the country before them. Elizabeth I was the 1st ruling queen with that name; the current one is the 2nd. Never mind the 400 years between them. Henry VIII was the 8th Henry to rule England, not the 8th king of England.
Check Wikipedia for a more complete history, or this website:

http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page1.asp

Hope that clears it up!