Few monarchs in English history could have been more aware of what their subjects expected of them than Edward VI, a king who was given a formidable classical and rhetorical education, surrounded by counsellors and preachers committed to impressing upon him the duties of his office. Royal minority certainly had its problems – the second half of this chapter examines some of the issues Edwardians faced in matching their boy-king to the authority of Tudor monarchy – but the conditions of childhood also allowed the governing elite to mould Edward in their own image. Court preaching certainly played a central role in Edwardian culture, although not to the exclusion of other influences – Edward was a king whose social and educational experiences were rich and varied – but still absolutely formative in shaping expectations of what it was to be king. Some of the sources for a reconstruction of Edwardian kingship have been lost (or indeed never were sources in the way that historians understand them): Edward's notes on the sermons he heard at court, for example, or conversations in the king's Privy Chamber and private readings with his tutors. Nevertheless, this chapter seeks to answer three questions. How would Edward have understood the nature of the office he held? How did Tudor kingship adapt to confront the practical and intellectual challenges of royal minority? And did the regime convince the subjects of the crown that reforming, Protestant monarchy was a legitimate proposition?