Will of Henry VIII

Its actual legal and constitutional status was much debated; and arguably the House of Stuart's succession to the English throne after Elizabeth I did not respect Henry's wishes.

The will containing the line of succession was read, stamped and sealed on 30 December and placed in the custody of Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford.

Reconsidering Henry VIII’s Wills, Written and Unwritten,” English Historical Review, forthcoming, January 2025.> The document is still extant, but this fact was not generally known or accepted by the 1560s, when some believed it was lost, or had been destroyed.

Those executors who were still alive (13 of the original 16, Browne, Denny and then Wriothesley having died) had a leading constitutional role, in theory from 13 October 1549.

[7] The issue of the "dry stamp" signature was brought up in the context of Anglo-Scottish diplomacy, carried out by Robert Melville on behalf of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1567.