Henry VIII's will was signed with a stamp, not his hand, and its validity was disputed for 20 years

Parliament's Third Succession Act of 1544 let Henry VIII settle the crown by will, but only by a will signed with his own hand. His will, dated 30 December 1546, was signed with the "dry stamp", an impression of his signature that clerks then inked. Anthony Denny and John Gates controlled the stamp. The will set the order of succession: Edward, then Mary, then Elizabeth, then the daughters of his niece Frances Grey. It cut out the descendants of his elder sister Margaret, the Scottish Stuarts. It named 16 executors to govern for his nine-year-old son. Henry died on 28 January 1547. Edward Seymour, the boy's uncle, held the only key to the box containing the will until he had secured Edward, and became Lord Protector. In the 1560s supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots argued the will was void because the king had not signed it himself. The Exchequer took custody only in 1566, "after twenty years of controversy concerning its authenticity", in The National Archives' words. The will was overridden twice. Edward VI named Lady Jane Grey as his heir in 1553, and in 1603 the excluded Stuart line took the throne as James I. In 2026 the original is at The National Archives, Kew, reference E 23/4. A 2025 article in the English Historical Review argues it was stamped in the king's presence.