According to histories such as "High Churchmanship in the Church of England" https://www.amazon.co.uk/High-Churchmanship-Church-England-Sixteenth/dp/0567096238/ it has always sought to be a compromise between the Sacrament and the Word, especially after the flip-flop between Edward and Mary. Always "Catholic and Reformed", I have never ascribed to the view of the Church of England as a Protestant Church.