Interpretation Between 1542 And 1558 Religion

Use your own knowledge to assess how far the sources support the interpretation that between 1542 and 1558 religion was more important consideration then legitimacy in settling the succession to the crown.

Between 1542 and 1558, religion may have had an effect on some people’s thoughts of who should become successor, however the truth is that is always ended up relying on their legitimacy. All sources from A to D have evidence of this fact. Although, source B and D have evidence that religion was still a slight factor that was taken into consideration.
Source B is a historians summary of the events surrounding Lady Jane Grey’s brief reign. It begins to state how towards the end of Edwards reign he and Northumberland were very aware that
It is a response to Mary’s letters claiming her right to the throne. The Privy Council are telling Mary that it is Jane Grey who is the rightful successor to the throne due to letters Edward wrote before his death and that due to the divorce of her mother and Henry VIII it causes Mary to be illegitimate. Legitimacy is used within this source to strengthen the position of Lady Jane Grey and weaken the position of Mary. They use it to say that Jane Grey is clearly the right successor because she has a relation to Henry VIII, yet even though Mary is his daughter they choose to disregard her because of a succession act that called her illegitimate even though later on that succession act was over thrown by the third succession act. Even though religion isn’t mentioned we know that this response has been written because Edward was desperate to have a protestant as his successor which is why so much weight is put on Edward’s ‘Great seal of England.’ The Privy Council know they have a very slim chance at making Jane Grey successor over Mary but they were willing to try. Yet in the sense of this source it heavily relies on ‘legitimacy’, even though Jane Grey isn’t the true person to be next in line. The Privy Council have an agenda and purpose that they are trying very hard to fulfil. However, we know that they actually failed to place Lady Jane Grey as the rightful ruler of England because Mary was able to gain the support of the people who believed and knew she was the rightful successor due to her father being Henry VIII and Lady Jane Grey only being a cousin. This source shows how true legitimacy is much more powerful than the word of an existing