effect of putting the state under enough pressure to threaten its collapse. Jones’ description has since proved to be controversial amongst historians who indicate that the label of a ‘crisis’ cannot be consistently used across the reigns of Edward VI and Mary I. Thus, this essay will individually examine the prince regent and lord president who ruled on the behalf of the minor Edward VI, The Duke of Somerset and the Duke of Northumberland (John Dudley), as well as the reign of Mary I in order to understand whether the label of ‘crisis’ can be applied across the ‘Mid-Tudor’ period. Historians agree that the attempted campaign to bring Lady Jane Grey to the throne was a point of a crisis, as it concerned the succession and thus the state itself. Therefore, this essay will not consider the succession crisis but examine the rest of the period to consider if the regency, presidency and reign, and therefore if the period as a whole, can be considered a ‘crisis’. One can recognise that the Lord Protector Somerset was eventually overwhelmed by the vast economic hardship and religious discontent fostered within the peasantry, which he himself did not aid with a misguided and costly foreign policy, culminating in his downfall in 1549. However, the following leader of the Privy Council, the Duke of Northumberland, proved to be a more competent leader. As Lord President, Northumberland took key measures to bring England out of a state of crisis through his economic and foreign policies, creating a diplomatic peace abroad to crucially focus on domestic issues. Whilst Northumberland sought to fix damage caused under Somerset, Mary I’s reign can be seen as one of progression. With a monarch finally ruling the country directly again, Mary was able to secure the only realistic ally against the Valois and gained economic gains from the Spanish marriage. Therefore, whilst the period of Somerset’s regency can be