Rebellions Ridolfi Plot Rebellions Ridolfi Plot William Parry The Ridolfi plot of 1570 The Ridolfi Plot was the name given to a scheme by the Roman Catholic faction in England to get rid of Queen Elizabeth I of England by assassination and in her place, installing Mary I of Scotland to the throne. The key figure in the plot, and where it draws its name from in fact, was Roberto di Ridolfi who conceived this plan in the year 1570. Although Ridolfi was the one who planned this assassination plot, its roots could actually be traced back to an earlier rebellion that the Duke of Norfolk became involved in. The Duke was a cousin of the Queen but often felt, quite correctly, that Elizabeth I severely undervalued his importance. When he was suggested as a possible husband to Mary in 1568, he welcomed this development as a means to further his own personal ambitions. The Northern Rebellion was then brewing and he was quick to throw in his support for the rebel faction. He was just as quick to withdraw it however, when he realised that he might have gotten in way over his head.

Nevertheless, the rebellion was going full force by then and he had neither the means nor the will to stop it. The Northern earls of England as the name implies, headed the Northern Rebellion and their plan was to rally all of the Catholics under their rule, with the goal of preparing for the eventual Catholic Spanish invasion headed by the governor of the Netherlands, the Duke of Alba. The rebellion ultimately failed and the conspirators were executed shortly afterwards. There then was a purge carried out against all Catholic sympathisers within the church. Norfolk himself was sentenced to nine months in the Tower of London and it was only when he admitted to his complicity in the plot and threw himself to the mercy of the court that he was released from prison and thereafter remained under house arrest. The Roman Catholic Church did not take to all of these developments lightly and in Regnans in Excelsis, a papal bill issued by Pope Pius V, ordered that Elizabeth I be excommunicated. He further implored all Roman Catholics in England to do everything in their power to work for the overthrow of Elizabeth I from the throne.

While not many Roman Catholics in England actually heeded the Pope's call to action, Queen Elizabeth nevertheless instituted a number of measures in retaliation, which only served to make things harder for England's Roman Catholic population. Roberto di Ridolfi then was a Roman Catholic banker from Florence, who was also involved in the Northern Rebellion. In fact, he had been involved in various plans to overthrow Queen Elizabeth from as early as 1569. With the failure of the Northern Rebellion however, he came to realise that in order to overthrow Queen Elizabeth and subsequently pave the way for both the restoration of Roman Catholicism in England and the rise of Mary to the throne, he needed some help from foreign powers. Because Roberto di Ridolfi was a known international banker who regularly travelled to major cities such as Brussels, Rome and Madrid, his actions in gathering support for his cause remained largely undetected in its early stages. Realising that this was the only way that Mary would be free, the Bishop of Ross, John Lesley, who also served as Mary's advisor gave his approval to the plot. They then hatched a plan to have the Duke of Alba invade England with 10,000 soldiers.

This force from the Netherlands would then join up with the Northern English noble classes and carry out the assassination of Elizabeth. Mary and Norfolk readily agreed to this plan, both seeing it as a way to regain their power. With their support, Ridolfi then sought to secure backing from the Duke of Alba, Pope Pius V and King Philip II. Unfortunately, the Duke of Alba knew that Mary had strong ties with the French, being a former queen of France. Alba feared that the rise of Mary to the English throne would have serious consequences for Spain, who considered France an enemy. The plot was subsequently discovered when news of it reached Elizabeth in 1571. Ridolfi was out of the country that time and escaped punishment. The Queen spared Mary but the Duke of Norfolk was arrested and later executed. Ridolfi Plot | Felicity Smoak | Photos, Video, Information About Shah Rukh Khan Photos, Video, Information About Shah Rukh Khan (Redirected from Ridolfi Plot ) The Ridolfi plot was meant to put Mary Stuart on the throne of England.

The Ridolfi plot was a plot in 1571 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots . The plot was hatched and planned by Roberto Ridolfi , an international banker who was able to travel between Brussels, Rome and Madrid to gather support without attracting too much suspicion. Contents Background The Duke of Norfolk , a cousin of Queen Elizabeth's and the wealthiest landowner in the country, had been proposed as a possible husband for Mary since her imprisonment in 1568. This suited Norfolk, who had ambitions and felt Elizabeth persistently undervalued him. [1] In pursuit of his goals, he agreed to support the Northern Rebellion , though he quickly lost his nerve. Norfolk was imprisoned in the Tower of London for nine months and only freed under house arrest when he confessed all and begged for mercy. [2] Pope Pius V , in his 1570 papal bull Regnans in Excelsis , excommunicated the Protestant Elizabeth and permitted all faithful Catholics to do all they could to depose her. The majority of English Catholics ignored the bull, [3] but in response to it, Elizabeth became much harsher to Catholics and their sympathisers.

[4] Plot Roberto Ridolfi , a Florentine banker and ardent Catholic, had been involved in the planning of the Northern rebellion and had been plotting to overthrow Elizabeth as early as 1569. [5] With the failure of the rebellion, he concluded that foreign intervention was needed to restore Catholicism and bring Mary to the English throne, and so he began to contact potential conspirators. Mary's advisor, John Lesley , the Bishop of Ross , gave his assent to the plot as the way to free Mary. [6] The plan was to have the Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba invade from the Netherlands with 10,000 men, foment a rebellion of the northern English nobility, murder Elizabeth, and marry Mary to Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk . Ridolfi optimistically estimated half of all English peers were Catholic and could muster in excess of 39,000 men. [7] Norfolk gave verbal assurances to Ridolfi that he was Catholic, though as a pupil of John Foxe , he remained a Protestant all his life.

[3] [8] Both Mary and Norfolk, desperate to remedy their respective situations, agreed to the plot. [9] With their blessing, Ridolfi set off to the Continent to gain Alba, Pius V, and King Philip II's support. List of co-conspirators Ridolfi's co-conspirators, some of them mentioned above, played an important role in the plot to overthrow Elizabeth: Don Guerau de Espés : Spain's ambassador to England, who was expelled after the discovery of his involvement. Elizabeth had raised her concerns about de Espés' behaviour with Anna of Austria . [10] John Lesley : the Bishop of Ross, who was Mary Stuart’s chief agent; he arranged meetings and delivered letters for Mary during her house arrest. Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk , who was Queen Elizabeth I's cousin. He was to marry Mary Queen of Scots and together with her restore Catholic rule to the English and Scottish thrones. After the plot was discovered he was given a day-long trial that ended with his execution. Mary, Queen of Scots : after it became clear that Elizabeth I was not going to restore her to the Scottish throne or return her to France, Mary plotted for her freedom.

She wrote to Ridolfi denouncing the French and soliciting Spanish aid, while simultaneously professing friendship and loyalty to Elizabeth I and England. Giving her consent to the plot in March 1571, her role was to marry the Duke of Norfolk, with the plan that when the troops arrived in London she would be returned to the Scottish throne. However, when the plot was uncovered, her deep involvement in it altered Elizabeth’s opinion of Mary; Elizabeth never spoke of restoring her to the throne again. King Philip II , who welcomed Ridolfi to court and, with the council, discussed the plot's pros and cons. He supported overthrowing Elizabeth and later came to support the assassination. Philip, however, disapproved of the papal bull against Elizabeth because, according to Cyril Hamshere, he feared it would "prompt Elizabeth to take reprisals against Catholics." [11] Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba , who was the leader of the Spanish army stationed in the Netherlands and was to lead more than 10,000 men to Harwich or Portsmouth.

His army was to invade England and make its way to London to establish Mary on the throne, while either detaining or assassinating Elizabeth I. Pope Pius V , who made Ridolfi his papal agent in England in 1567. Pius was not only aware of the plot but gave his written approval in a letter for Ridolfi to take to Philip II. Discovery In 1571, Elizabeth's intelligence network was sending her information about a plot against her life. By gaining the confidence of Spain's ambassador to England, John Hawkins learned the details of the conspiracy and notified the government so as to arrest the plotters. Elizabeth was also sent a private warning by Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany , who had learned of the plot against her. Charles Baillie , Ridolfi's messenger, was arrested on about 12 April 1571 at Dover for carrying compromising letters, and by the use of torture and prison informers, he was forced to reveal the cipher of the messages he carried.

On 29 August 1571, Norfolk's secretaries William Barker and Robert Higford entrusted to Thomas Browne, a Shrewsbury draper , what was purported to be a bag of silver coin for delivery to Laurence Bannister, one of the Norfolk's officials in the north of England. Browne grew suspicious of the bag's weight, opened it, and discovered 600 pounds in gold from the French ambassador, destined for Scotland on Mary's behalf, and ciphered letters. Because he knew Norfolk was under suspicion, Browne reported his find to William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , the Secretary of State . Higford and Barker were interrogated, the letters were partly deciphered, and a search for the cipher key at Howard House uncovered a ciphered letter from Mary Stuart hidden under a doormat. Norfolk's servants were arrested and interrogated, and confessions were extracted from them by threats or application of torture. Sir Thomas Smith and Thomas Wilson were sent to confront Norfolk, who claimed the money was for his own private purposes. The deciphered letter, however, proved that he was lying.

Unaware of his servants' confessions or the survival of letters which, contrary to his instructions, had not been burnt, he denied the charges against him. On 7 September, the queen's warrant for conveying him to the Tower of London arrived. Thereupon, the duke admitted a degree of involvement in the transmission of money and correspondence to Mary's Scottish supporters. In January 1572, Norfolk was tried and convicted on three counts of high treason, and on 2 June he was beheaded on Tower Hill . Guerau de Spes , the Spanish ambassador, was expelled from the country in January 1571. [12] Still abroad when the plot was discovered, Ridolfi never returned to England; he became a Florentine senator in 1600. Ridolfi's role Despite his plot's ultimate failure, Roberto Ridolfi's story is surprising and memorable. He'd played the relatively nondescript role of banker but nevertheless found himself at the center of a major plot to overthrow the English government. Ridolfi had been jailed in 1568 because of a rumor that he had distributed money to dissenting nobles associated with the Northern Rebellion.

The Pope did, in fact, give him 12,000 crowns for that purpose, but Ridolfi was released in 1570 because no evidence could be found to incriminate him. Even after his arrest and release, Ridolfi remained a spy for the Pope. [13] Ridolfi’s banking connections helped him become acquainted with the Duke of Norfolk, and he became a supporter of a marriage between Norfolk and Mary, Queen of Scots, who would, if the plot succeeded, rule England and reinstate Catholicism there. [13] After Norfolk's release from prison in August 1570, Ridolfi "picked up the broken threads of Catholic intrigue". [11] Ridolfi was in an advantageous position to orchestrate a Catholic rebellion in England, since he was employed by the Pope, France, and Spain, and had ties to the Catholic contingent in England. He could use banking as an excuse to travel among these groups for the purpose of conspiring. [13] When he travelled to mainland Europe to inform King Phillip and the Pope of the plot, it is believed that he was still working for Elizabeth.

[13] The Duke of Alba, the Spanish Viceroy in the Netherlands who was to lead the attack on England, felt Ridolfi was too garrulous to be the leader of a conspiracy, but Spanish Ambassador Don Guerau de Spes described Ridolfi as "A person of great truth and virtue and an intimate friend of mine." [14] Ridolfi’s talkative nature did eventually cause him trouble, as he was not very discreet and trumpeted his plan all over Europe. His boasting was partially responsible for the plot's failure, as he told it to the Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany who immediately informed Elizabeth of the plot. [13] Ridolfi escaped execution, unlike some of his co-conspirators, and lived until 1612. [15] Modern criticism According to historian Cyril Hamshere, retrospective critics of the conspiracy cited a number of reasons why the Ridolfi Plot would have been doomed to fail even if it had not been discovered prematurely.

For one, the small number of Spanish soldiers (between 6000-10,000) would have been absurdly inadequate to the task of overthrowing the English government. [11] Additionally, the vagueness of the invasion point was a logistical shortcoming. The plan was to land at either Harwich or Portsmouth , but Ridolfi apparently did not know exactly where Harwich was. [11] Also dubious was Ridolfi's reliance on the Duke of Norfolk, who was regarded as a bad leader and was not even a Catholic. [11] This did not make him an ideal co-conspirator, but, according to Hamshere, "his main merit lay in his title: in 1571 he was the only Duke in England". [11] Norfolk's Protestantism was but one irony of the Ridolfi Plot: Norfolk and Mary Queen of Scots had each been married three times before their proposed marriage to each other. Pope Pius was, apparently, willing to grant Mary an annulment of her marriage to her imprisoned husband, [14] but the notion of two thrice wed royals leading England back to Catholicism is somewhat problematic, nonetheless.

Media representations England and Scotland in the reign of Elizabeth England and Scotland in the reign of Elizabeth Mary, Queen of Scots & Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley The Protestant rebellion At Elizabeth's accession, Scotland was a thistle in England's side. Controlled by the hostile French, its Queen - the young Mary Stuart - was the prime Catholic candidate for the throne of England. But French rule , with its rigid Catholicism was not popular in Scotland. Protestantism had spread amongst key members of the nobility and the Lowland populace. Into this explosive situation (May 1559), Elizabeth I introduced the fiery Protestant preacher, John Knox . Anti-Catholic and anti-French disorder soon erupted. In February 1560, Elizabeth made the Treaty of Berwick with the Scottish nobles opposed to French government, and in March sent troops. For the first time in history, Englishmen and Scotsmen fought side by side rather than against one another. The French regent, Mary of Guise died 11 June 1560, and soon after the Treaty of Edinburgh (July 1560) led to the withdrawal of French troops.

Knox and the Protestant rebels announced that they were the "Great Council" of Scotland, and promptly set about a thorough reformation of the Scottish Church. A "parliament" (neither legally summoned nor duly elected) ended papal jurisdiction and abolished the Mass. Mary, Queen of Scots' husband, Francis I, King of France died 5 December 1560 and Mary returned to Scotland in August 1561. Mary had agreed to accept the Protestant coup in exchange for being recognized as ruler and allowed the private exercise of her faith. Her eyes were set on a better crown - that of England, and her marriage in July 1565 to Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley was aimed at strengthening her claim to succeed (or supplant) Elizabeth. Mary, Queen of Scots, aged sixteen "Uniquely ... Mary put marriage before monarchy. She had a very high sense of what was due to her as a queen. What was apparently lacking was the recognition that there was something fundamental due from her." (Wormald, Mary Queen of Scots) Henry and Mary's union was soon blessed with a son - James - but in every other respect, it was cursed.

The vain and drunken Henry, soon drove Mary into the late-night company of her secretary, David Rizzio. The resentful Darnley conspired with the Protestant lords to murder the Catholic Rizzio (March 1566). 4th Earl of Bothwell. Mary retaliated by conspiring to dispose of Darnley (February 1567), and then recklessly rushing into the arms of the chief conspirator, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. A group of Scottish nobles - known as the "Confederate Lords" decided to free Mary from Bothwell. Since Mary did not want to be freed, the lords raised an army. At Carberry (June 1567), Mary's feeble force dissolved and she was captured. She abdicated the crown in favor of her infant son, James , on 24 July 1567. Castle Bolton, Wensleydale where Mary was held from July 1568 to January 1569 Elizabeth temporized. She put no pressure on the Scots to restore Mary, but she kept Mary securely confined.

But Mary's presence in England was inherently dangerous, as she became the focal point of Catholic hopes of overturning Elizabeth's Protestant regime. This would probably have been true whatever Mary did, but she fanned the flames of such schemes. "The poor fool will never cease [from plotting] until she lose her head. In faith they will put her to death. I see it is her own fault and folly." (Charles IX of France on Mary, Queen of Scots. 1572.) The first plot against Elizabeth was tied to the Rebellion of the Northern Earls. The conspirators planned to marry Mary to Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk - England premier Catholic nobleman. Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Howard was briefly imprisoned after the failure of the Rebellion, but this did not prevent him from dabbling in the Ridolfi Plot (1570). After the assassination of Elizabeth, Mary was to marry Howard, take the crown and restore Catholicism. The plot was discovered, and Howard was arrested (September 1571) and executed for treason (June 1572). For ten years, Mary lived comparatively quietly at Sheffield Castle, spending much of her time with Bess of Hardwick .

However, Mary kept up secret contacts with her supporters and in 1572 became involved in another plot. The English authorities knew about the Babington Plot almost from day one, and of Mary's enthusiastic embrace of this plan to assassinate Elizabeth and put Mary on the throne. Elizabeth was a great deal more reluctant to order Mary's death, than Mary was to condone Elizabeth's assassination. Finally, Elizabeth did bow the pressure to execute Mary that the political nation had long exerted. Elizabeth signed Mary's death warrant on 1 February 1587, and Mary was (messily) beheaded one week later (8 February). James VI of Scotland James was crowned King of Scotland on 29 July 1567. His tender age (thirteen months) necessitated a regency, and the place was taken by James Stuart, Ist Earl of Moray. Moray, the illegitimate son of James V, was a determined character and a convinced Protestant. But his firm rule ended when he was assassinated in January 1570. Civil war broke out in Scotland, and Elizabeth sent English troops to support the James VI's grandfather - Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox .

Lennox was soon killed, and control was eventually taken by James Douglas, 4th earl of Morton. Morton imposed a certain degree of stability for the rest of James VI's minority. James' minority ended theoretically in 1578, but in fact the country remained at the mercy of factional and religious conflict for at least another decade. James VI really began to assert personal control from the 1590s. Even then, he remained dependent on the major Scottish nobles, whose feuds and plots made Scottish politics a bloody affair. Medal of James VI from 1590. It shows the Scottish thistle and reads Nemo me impune lacesset - nobody messes with me. James carefully maintained a good relationship with Elizabeth, and England and Scotland were effectively close allies from the 1580s onwards. James had the best claim to the English throne on hereditary principles, but many other candidates had plausible pretensions. James formed a secret association with Robert Cecil - Elizabeth's principal minister. When Elizabeth died, Robert Cecil and other members of the Privy Council ensured that his succession was not disputed.

Mary Plots page Mary, Queen of Scots and Plots Against Elizabeth I Mary, Queen of Scots was a thorn in the side of Queen Elizabeth I during much of her reign. Most of this trouble resulted from Mary’s potential claim to the English throne, and because of this, Mary was at the center of many plots against Elizabeth. To explain why Mary was at the center of these plots, one must understand her childhood in the French court and connections with the much hated House of Guise, her Catholic stance in a world that was changing to Protestantism, and her claim to the English throne and her ambitions to be Queen of England. There were several plots in which Mary was involved that best illustrate her involvement in attempting to overthrow, and maybe even murder, Elizabeth I. Mary’s involvement in these plots was active, though not really direct, meaning she was never to be the one to actually remove or kill Elizabeth. However, Mary was a financial backer of the plots and a connection to foreign powers, who would help in replacing Elizabeth as queen, always knew the details of the action to be taken, and even gave advice concerning the timing of the action, such as not proceeding until sufficient support was garnered.

The two plots, which happened to occur in a fifteen year period (1571-1586), were the Ridolfi Plot and the Babington Plot, which resulted in the trial and execution of Mary. I Mary was born December 8, 1542 at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland. Her father, James V of Scotland, died a few days after her birth, and she was crowned Queen of Scotland September 9, 1543. Mary’s mother, Mary of Guise, acted as regent until her death on June 11, 1560. During this time, Mary was sent to France in the August of 1548, due to her betrothal to Françoise, the Dauphin Mary’s time at the French court is one of golden happiness. Mary was a beautiful and energetic little girl, and her future father-in-law, King Henry II of France, stated, “The little Queen of Scots is the most perfect child that I have ever seen.” Her childhood and raising in the French court would later add suspicion and hatred to Mary from the English masses.

Also, Mary was raised Catholic, both during her early years in Scotland and later childhood years in France. Furthermore, her being Catholic would also add to her problems and image with the English people. Mary had another strike against her that would cause problems later in life and that was concerning her lineage. On her mother’s side, Mary was related, and therefore connected with, the French House of Guise. Through English perception, the House of Guise was the basis of all Catholic conspiracies against Protestants in England and Queen Elizabeth. William Cecil, in his “Perils upon the overthrow of the Prince of Conde” (1562), states, 1. The whole regiment of the Crowne of france shall be in the hands of the Guisians and to Maynteane there faction they will pleasure the kyng of Spayne in all that they maye. Hereupon shall follow, a complot betwixt them twoo, to avance there owne pryvat causes the kyng of Spayne to disable the house of Navarr for ever from clayming the kingdom of Navarr. The house of Guise to promote there niece the Q.

of Scotts to the crown of England and for doing hereof twoo things principally will be attempted: The marriage betwixt the prynce of Spayne and the sayd Queene and in this compact the Realme of Irland to be given in a praye to the k. of Spayne. Even at age twenty, Mary was considered a threat to Elizabeth and English Protestants. The other aspect of her lineage which caused plots against Elizabeth to spring up around Mary was from her father’s side. Through her father, James V, Mary had a claim to the English throne; Mary’s grandmother, Margaret Tudor, was daughter of Henry VII of England and sister to Henry VIII of England. Because of her claim to the English throne, she was a threat because Elizabeth had no heirs. Also, Mary was Catholic, and Protestant England did not like the idea that the country might one day be reverted back to Catholicism, if Mary was to become queen. On the other hand, however, many English Catholics, foreign Catholic nations, and Mary herself viewed her as the Queen of England; they perceived Elizabeth as a bastard and had been excommunicated by the Pope.

All of these factors, as well as those previously mentioned, combined to explain why these plots against Elizabeth sprung up around Mary and why she chose to involve herself in them. II The first of the major plots in which Mary was involved was the Ridolfi Plot. This plot is named after Roberto Ridolfi, an Italian banker, who was at the center of the plot. His plan was to secure an invasion of England from the Spanish general in the Netherlands (Mary’s connection with Philip II of Spain would come into use), this would lead to a Catholic uprising in England, these actions would free Mary from captivity, seize Elizabeth, and place Mary on the throne and the Duke of Norfolk would become Mary’s husband. The main players were Ridolfi, Norfolk, Mary, and Leslie (Mary’s envoy). By March of 1571, Mary, Norfolk, and Leslie were cut off from each other, and Ridolfi was became their go-between; therefore, allowing him to play all three. However, Elizabeth is warned of the plot by the Duke of Tuscany, and letters connecting Ridolfi and Leslie are intercepted. As a result, Elizabeth begins to take action against the plotters.

Mary confesses that she did supply Ridolfi with financial aide, but denies knowing where the money was going and anything about a plot against Elizabeth. Leslie was arrested and confessed to the plot, as well as, implicating Mary, Norfolk, and Ridolfi. Because of Leslie’s confessions, Norfolk is arrested, tried, and executed; and Mary becomes the subject of even more English hatred. Mary’s involvement in the Ridolfi Plot is questioned by historians because of Leslie’s willingness, mostly due to the threat of torture, to confess and implicate the other three, and Mary’s confession of financial aide. Fraser does not believe that Mary was really involved in the plot, and she questions the genuineness of the “incriminating” documents. Further, Fraser qualifies the possibility of Mary’s involvement by stating, “It is possible that Mary gained such a falsely rosy picture of the situation that she allowed herself to be committed on paper to an extremely hazardous venture.” Karen Cunningham views Mary more dubiously by commenting on Mary’s hiding “behind claims of forgery and counterfeiting in the Ridolfi plot.” Cunningham has the right idea about Mary, implying Mary’s involvement and her innocent act after being caught.

The second, and final, of these plots against Elizabeth involving Mary is the Babington Plot. This plot was the combination of two fairly separate plots, though intertwined through rumors and double agents. The first half of the plot was organized by Sir Francis Walsingham in an attempt to entrap Mary. He used double agents such as Charles Paget and Gilbert Gifford; and he utilized the friendships these men had with others to set the trap. The trap was the passing of letters from Mary’s people in Paris to her and getting her letters to them in Paris through the local brewer. The problem, however, was that the brewer was in the service of Walsingham and his agents, thus, all of the letters passed to and from Mary were intercepted by Walsingham and his men. Also, Walsingham went to work spreading rumors about foreign support and Catholic uprisings in England, both of which were highly exaggerated, if true at all. As a result of the rumors, a young Catholic gentleman, who was not terribly bright, Anthony Babington, decided to create a plot to rescue Mary and place her on the English throne.

Babington was then told about the local brewer and he began sending letters (these letters are also intercepted by Walsingham) to Mary. On July 14, 1586, Mary received a letter from Babington laying out the plan to rescue Mary, oust Elizabeth with the help of a foreign invader, and place Mary on the throne. On July 17, 1586, Mary responded to this letter with approval to the plot and cautioned Babington and his fellow conspirators to not make any moves until everything was in place and the foreign invasion is strong and prepared. When Thomas Phelippes, Walsingham’s chief decipherer and expert forger, gets the letter he added a gallows mark to the outside of the letter to symbolize Mary having fallen into the trap. By July 19, 1586, Walsingham has possession of the gallows letter, therefore, he has all the evidence he needs to begin rounding up and executing most of the Babington conspirators and proceed with the trial and beheading of Mary. Mary was obviously a part of the Babington Plot, even though it is a blatant case of entrapment on Walsingham’s behalf.

However, since there were no laws against the use of entrapment in England at the time, there is no use in arguing in on Mary’s behalf. On the gallows letter there was a post script which was added (before being sent to Babington) and asked for the names of the other conspirators, and historians have debated over who added it, Walsingham or Phelippes. I believe it was Thomas Phelippes, though certainly under the direction of Walsingham, since he was the expert forger. Also, it was usual that Phelippes would receive the letters first, then decipher them, and then pass them on to Walsingham; therefore, Phelippes had the better opportunity to tamper with the letter. Another major debate concerning the Babington Plot is why Mary would have entered into the matter in the first place. In Sir Walter Scott’s Scotland, he does not even mention Mary at all as a possible conspirator, but instead, chooses to focus on her frailty. However, Scott’s position could be explained as lacking information or evidence and highly biased due to his heritage and his praising of all Scots throughout his book.

Antonia Fraser seems to argue that Mary became a member of the plot due to her feelings of isolation and unwell health; therefore, causing her to not use caution. Fraser states, “ Mary herself was beginning to feel weary of the prolonged battle for some sort of decent existence, in which she had now been involved for eighteen years, and the constant strain of being ever on her guard, ever plotting, ever hoping, ever planning.” Fraser continues by adding, “Her own agreement was entirely in the context of a captive seeking to escape her guards, and may be compared to the actions of a prisoner who is prepared to escape by a certain route, even if it may involve the slaying of a jailer by another hand.” Though Fraser makes the point that, although, Mary would not have been the one to actually kill Elizabeth, she does not address the cautious nature of Mary’s repeated warnings in the gallows letter about not proceeding without total preparedness and support.

Finally, Jenny Wormald describes Mary’s involvement by stating she, “enjoyed the heady excitement of plotting, with coded letters transmitted in a beer-keg.” I am inclined to agree mostly with Wormald, and her assent that Mary was intelligent, clever, highly ambitious, yet lacked political judgment. However, I think Mary’s state of isolation only encouraged her all the more to join any plot which included her escape. By looking at two of the major plots Mary was involved in, one can see that Mary was surely a member in both of these plots. Though she was never the one named to be the remover or killer of Elizabeth, she was certainly active in her roles in the plots. In the Ridolfi Plot she was a financial backer, and it would be naïve to believe that that was all. Her personal messenger was actively involved, and because she was Catholic, she had connections with the Pope and Philip II of Spain, which could be explored on her own, or by those working for her. Mary’s involvement in plots against Elizabeth is even further illustrated in the Babington Plot. In this plot she is clearly implicated in the plot by her very own hand.

She wrote acceptance to a plot, which was a direct attack against Elizabeth. Mary went further to even offer cautious advice about the timing of the plot and the gaining of sufficient support for their cause. And, even though Mary states in her last letter that she is guilty of nothing because she is not an English subject, she states to Henri III of France, “Royal brother, having by God’s will, for my sins I think, thrown myself into the power of the Queen my cousin.” In conclusion, it can be seen that Mary was an active member in several plots against the Queen of England. Bibliography Cunningham, Karen. Imaginary Betrayals: Subjectivity and the Discourse of Treason in Early Modern England. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002. Fraser, Antonia. Mary, Queen of Scots. New York: Delacorte Press, 1970. Marie Stuart Society. The World of Mary, Queen of Scots. 1998. 27 April 2003. Scott, Walter. Scotland. New York: Peter Fenelon Collier, 1899. The Last Letter of Mary, Queen of Scots. The National Library of Scotland.

7 May 2003. Wormald, Jenny. Mary, Queen of Scots: Politics, Passion, and a Kingdom Lost. London: Tauris Parke Paperbooks, 2001. Roberto di Ridolfi Roberto di Ridolfi References Roberto di Ridolfi was born in Florence , Italy, on 18 November 1531. Roberto's grandfather Giovanfrancesco and two uncles, Lucantonio and Lodovico, were all Florentine senators. His family also operated one of the largest banking houses in the city. The family had close business links with England and in 1562 Ridolfi settled in London . His employment as a financial agent on behalf of William Cecil and other statesmen gave the Florentine a position of influence and credibility at the English court. (1) Ridolfi became a supporter of Mary Queen of Scots . After the death of her husband, Henry Stuart , Lord Darnley, and her marriage to James Hepburn , 4th Earl of Bothwell, the man suspected of killing Darnley.

One of Mary's biographer's, Julian Goodare , claims that the murder was an "abiding historical whodunnit, generating a mass of contradictory evidence, and with a large cast of suspects since almost everyone had a motive to kill him." He points out that historians are divided about Mary's involvement in the killing. "The extreme anti-Mary case is that from late 1566 onwards she was conducting an illicit love affair with Bothwell, with whom she planned the murder. The extreme pro-Mary case is that she was wholly innocent, knowing nothing of the business. In between these two extremes, it has been argued that she was aware in general terms of plots against her husband, and perhaps encouraged them." (2) Twenty-six Scottish peers, turned against Mary and Bothwell, raising an army against them. Mary and Bothwell confronted the lords at Carberry Hill on 15th June, 1567. Clearly outnumbered, Mary and Bothwell surrendered. Bothwell was driven into exile and Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle . While in captivity Mary miscarried twins.

Her captors discussed several options: "conditional restoration; enforced abdication and exile; enforced abdication, trial for murder, and life imprisonment; enforced abdication, trial for murder, and execution". On 24th July she was presented with deeds of abdication, telling her that she would be killed if she did not sign. Mary eventually agreed to abdicate in favour of her one-year-old son James. Mary's illegitimate half-brother, James Stuart , 1st Earl of Moray, was made regent. (3) Spartacus E-Books (Price £0.99 / $1.50) Anne Boleyn The Earl of Moray had no desire to keep the 24-year-old queen in prison for the rest of her life. On 2nd May 1568, she escaped from Lochleven Castle. She managed to raise an army of 6,000 men but was defeated at the Battle of Langside on 13 May. Three days later she crossed the Solway Firth in a fishing boat and landed at Workington . On 18 May, local officials took her into protective custody at Carlisle Castle .

(4) Queen Elizabeth was in a difficult position. She did not want the Catholic claimant to the English throne living in the country. At the same time she could not use her military forces to reimpose Mary's rule on the protestant Scots; nor could she allow Mary to take refuge in France and Spain, where she would be used as a "valuable pawn in the power game against England". There was no alternative but to keep the Queen of Scots in honourable captivity and in 1569 she was sent to Tutbury Castle under the guardianship of the George Talbot , 6th Earl of Shrewsbury. (5) Mary was permitted her own domestic staff and her chambers were decorated with fine tapestries and carpets. (6) The Ridolfi Plot By the late 1560s Ridolfi's commercial interests had been eclipsed by politics, and he soon became obsessed with returning England to the Catholic fold by means of foreign assistance. He developed contacts by supplying information to the French and Spanish ambassadors in London . He became an official agent when he accepted money for his efforts. In 1566 Ridolfi became a secret envoy for Pope Pius V .

He asked Ridolfi to distribute 12,000 crowns to those in the northern regions opposing the rule of Queen Elizabeth. Sir Francis Walsingham , became suspicious of Ridolfi and in October 1569 he brought him in for questioning. He also carried out a search of his house but nothing incriminating was found and he was released in January 1570. Ridolfi's biographer, L. E. Hunt , has suggested he may have become a double-agent during this period: "The leniency of his treatment at the hands of Elizabeth and her ministers has caused some scholars to suggest that during his house arrest Ridolfi was successfully ‘turned’ by Walsingham into a double agent who subsequently worked for, and not against, the Elizabethan government." (7) Ridolfi now attempted to develop a close relationship with John Leslie , Bishop of Ross and Thomas Howard , 4th Duke of Norfolk, a cousin to the queen and the highest ranking peer in England. Mary Queen of Scots encouraged Norfolk to join the plot by writing to him on 31st January 1571 suggesting marriage.

Robert Hutchinson , the author of Elizabeth's Spy Master (2006) has commented: "One can imagine Norfolk's incredulous expression when he read her wholly unrealistic letter, its contents, if not the stuff of daydreams, certainly of rampant self-deception." (8) Thomas Howard , 4th Duke of Norfolk (c. 1560) According to Norfolk's biographer, Michael A. Graves : "An extensive, overmanned, and vulnerable conspiratorial network, including the servants of the principal participants, planned the release of the Scottish queen, her marriage to the duke, and, with Spanish military assistance, Elizabeth's removal in favour of Mary and the restoration of Catholicism in England. The success of the plan required Norfolk's approval and involvement. An initial approach by the bishop of Ross, forwarding ciphered letters from Mary, failed to secure his support. However, Norfolk reluctantly agreed to meet Ridolfi, as a result of which he gave verbal approval to the request for Spanish military assistance." (9) Roberto di Ridolfi eventually convinced Howard to sign a declaration stating that he was a Catholic and, if backed by Spanish forces, was willing to lead a revolt.

"The plan, later to be known as the Ridolfi plot, was soon in place: a Catholic rising was to free Mary and then, with zealous Catholics as well as Spanish forces joining en route, bring her to London, where the queen of Scots would supplant Elizabeth. The English queen's ultimate fate was purposely left unclear for the benefit of those with tender consciences. Mary would then secure her throne by marrying Norfolk." (10) Ridolfi received through Ross a paper of detailed instructions agreed on by Norfolk and Mary Queen of Scots . This empowered him to ask the Duke of Alva for guns, ammunition, armour and money, and 10,000 men, of whom 4,000, it was suggested, might make a diversion in Ireland. Ridolfi went to Brussels, where he discussed the plan with Alva. He then wrote to Philip II warning against a serious war against England: "But if the Queen of England should die, either a natural or any other death" then he should consider sending troops to put Mary on the vacant throne.

(11) The Ridolfi Plot was ill conceived in the extreme and has been called "one of the more brainless conspiracies" of the sixteenth century (12). Walsingham and the Ridolfi Plot It would seem that Francis Walsingham and William Cecil became aware of the Ridolfi Plot and they "grasped the opportunity to remove Norfolk, once and forever, from the political scene". (13) A servant of Mary Stuart and the bishop of Ross named Charles Bailly had been arrested upon his arrival at Dover on 12th April, 1571. A search of his baggage revealed that Bailly was carrying banned books as well as ciphered correspondence about the plot between Thomas Howard and his brother-in-law John Lumley . Bailly was taken to the Tower and tortured on the rack, and the information obtained from him led to the arrest of the Bishop of Ross and the Duke of Norfolk. (14) Walsingham also arrested two of of Norfolk's secretaries, who were carrying £600 in gold to Mary's Scottish supporters. (15) At the sight of the rack Robert Higford told all he knew.

The second secretary, William Barker, refused to confess and he was tortured. While on the rack his resolution failed and he revealed that secret documents were hidden in the tiles of the roof of one of the houses owned by Norfolk. In the hiding-place Walsingham found a complete collection of the papers connected with Ridolfi's mission, and nineteen letters to Norfolk from the Queen of Scots and the Bishop of Ross. (16) On 7th September, 1571, Thomas Howard was taken to the Tower of London . He eventually admitted a degree of involvement in the transmission of money and correspondence to Mary's Scottish supporters. He was brought to trial in Westminster Hall on 16th January 1572. His request for legal counsel was disallowed on the grounds that it was not permissible in cases of high treason. The charge was that he practised to deprive the queen of her crown and life and thereby "to alter the whole state of government of this realm"; that he had succoured the English rebels who fled after the failed northern rising of 1569; and that he had given assistance to the queen's Scottish enemies.

(17) It has been claimed that a "state trial of the sixteenth century was little more than a public justification of a verdict that had already been reached". (18) The government case was supported with documentary proof, the written confessions of the bishop of Ross, his servant Bailly, the duke's secretaries, and other servants, and his own admissions. It is claimed that "Norfolk assumed an air of aristocratic disdain in his responses to the mounting evidence against him". This was "reinforced by what appeared to be a disbelief that the greatest noble in the land, scion of an ancient family, could be treated in this way". He was also dismissive of the evidence against him because of the inferiority of those who provided it. At its end he was convicted of high treason, condemned to death, and returned to the Tower to await execution. (19) Execution of the Duke of Norfolk Queen Elizabeth was reluctant to authorize the execution of the Duke of Norfolk. Warrants were repeatedly signed and then cancelled. Meanwhile he wrote letters to her, in which he still endeavoured to persuade her of his loyalty, and to his children.

He wrote: "Beware of the court, except it be to do your prince service, and that as near as you can in the meanest degree; for place hath no certainty, either a man by following thereof hath too much to worldly pomp, which in the end throws him down headlong, or else he lieth there unsatisfied." (20) Elizabeth eventually agreed to execute Norfolk but at the last moment she changed her mind.

William Cecil complained to Francis Walsingham : "The Queen's Majesty hath always been a merciful lady and by mercy she hath taken more harm than by justice, and yet she thinks she is more beloved in doing herself harm." (21) On 8th February, 1572, Cecil wrote to Walsingham: "I cannot write what is the inward stay of the Duke of Norfolk's death; but suddenly on Sunday late in the night, the Queen's Majesty sent for me and entered into a great misliking that the Duke should die the next day; and she would have a new warrant made that night for the sheriffs to forbear until they should hear further." (22) On 8th May, 1572, Parliament assembled in an attempt to force Queen Elizabeth to act against those involved in the plot against her. Michael A. Graves points out that Elizabeth finally yielded to pressure, perhaps in the hope that, by "sacrificing Thomas Howard to the wolves, she could spare a fellow queen". Elizabeth refused to take action against Mary Queen of Scots but agreed that Norfolk would be executed on 2nd June, 1572, on Tower Hill.

(23) Elizabeth Jenkins , the author of Elizabeth the Great (1958) has argued: "Since she came to the throne, Elizabeth had ordered no execution by beheading. After fourteen years of disuse, the scaffold on Tower Hill was falling to pieces, and it was necessary to put up another. The Duke's letters to his children, his letters to the Queen, his perfect dignity and courage at his death, made his end moving in the extreme, and he could at least be said that no sovereign had ever put a subject to death after more leniency or with greater unwillingness." (24) Ridolfi remained a special envoy of Pius V in Rome . He complained that after the trial of Norfolk the English government had confiscated his goods, which were valued at nearly £3,000. He eventually returned to Florence and in 1575 he was sent on a special embassy to Portugal and Spain on behalf of the Grand Duke Francesco de' Medici . He held various administrative offices in Tuscany, including commissioner of Arezzo and governor of both Pisa and Pistoia, and he was appointed senator in 1600.

(25) Roberto di Ridolfi died on 18th February 1612. (1) Roger Lockyer , Tudor and Stuart Britain (1985) Further evidence of Spanish ill will was provided in March 1571, with the uncovering of a plot which involved the King of Spain and the Pope, along with the Queen of Scots and the Duke of Norfolk. The arch-conspirator who was trying to knit these disparate elements together was Ridolfi, and his idea was that Norfolk should call on the English catholics to rise in rebellion, seize Elizabeth and free Mary from captivity, at the same time as a Spanish expeditionary force landed on the cast coast. It is most unlikely that the plot would ever have succeeded, but Cecil discovered what was afoot and grasped the opportunity to remove Norfolk, once and forever, from the political scene. The Duke was arrested, put on trial for high treason, and found guilty. Six months later, after the Queen's doubts and hesitations had been overcome, he was executed on Tower Hill.

(2) Robert Hutchinson , Elizabeth's Spy Master (2006) A plot to overthrow the queen had already galvanised England in 1571-2, centred yet again on that arch-conspirator Roberto Ridolfi. Within days of the Duke of Norfolk's release from the Tower in August 1570 and into confinement at Howard House in London, the audacious Florentine had visited him secretly. A visitor with such a poor sense of timing could hardly have been less welcome. Ridolfi asked the apprehensive Norfolk to write to the Duke of Alva, the Spanish captain-general in the Netherlands, seeking funds for the imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots. Wisely, Norfolk shunned him - "I began to mislike him," he said much later, and "sought ways to shift me from him." It was a rare moment of perception, for this double agent was eventually the deceitful means used to bring Norfolk to the scaffold. Despite all that he had suffered, Norfolk's other nemesis, Mary Queen of Scots, was still keen to marry him and to embroil him in a new, dangerous conspiracy.

She wrote to him on 31 January 1571, encouraging his escape from house arrest - "as she would do herself, notwithstanding any danger" - in order that they could be married. One can imagine Norfolk's incredulous expression when he read her wholly unrealistic letter, its contents, if not the stuff of daydreams, certainly of rampant self-deception. The Scottish queen's fantasies aside, the duke's final downfall was triggered by the arrest of Charles Bailly, a young Fleming who had entered Mary's service in 1564 and later worked for John Leslie, Bishop of Ross, her agent in London. Burghley's agents in Dover had detained him in early April 1571 after discovering he was carrying books and letters from English exiles and had no valid passport. Two of the communications, "hid behind his back secretly", were addressed to the bishop and had been dictated to Bailly by the ubiquitous Ridolphi in Brussels. The prisoner was brought to London and held in the Beauchamp Tower in the Tower of London, where grim inscriptions on the walls of a secondfloor room, carved by him in the utter despair of imprisonment, survive to this day.

They include some painfully true words, and Bailly's woeful sentiments are justified by the treatment he received at the hands of his torturers in the Tower. A brief session on the rack - a fiendish machine that stretched the body and agonisingly dislocated the joints' - plus the threat of further such treatment to come compelled the prisoner to make some startling admissions. He admitted that Ridolfi had left England on 25 March with personal appeals from Mary to the Duke of Alva in the Low Countries, his master - King Philip II - and the Pope to organise and fund an invasion of England. The aim was to overthrow Elizabeth, crown the Scottish queen and re-establish Catholicism as the state religion. Earlier that month, Ridolfi had revisited Norfolk at Howard House in Charterhouse Square, leaving a document with him that outlined the invasion plans and listed some forty luminaries in England who secretly supported Mary, each name identified by a number for use in ciphered correspondence.

(3) Francis Walsingham , letter to William Cecil (14th May, 1570) I am given secretly to understand that Ridolfi has letters of credit given him by the Spanish ambassador unto the duke of Alva; where upon he had a long conference with the duke and was dispatched to Rome with letters of credit to the King of Spain promising to be in Madrid the 20th of this month. Touching the matter of secrecy committed unto him, I can learn nothing as yet, notwithstanding, I thought it my part to advertise tell your Lordship of this much which perhaps by other advertisements can give some guess what the same imports. (4) Pope Pius V , bill that appeared on the garden gate of the Bishop of London (25th May, 1570) The Lord who reigns on high instituted a Church which should be one, and gave its government to Peter, and his successors. We labour with all our might to preserve that unity, now assailed by so many adversaries. Among them is that servant of infamy, Elizabeth, who styles herself Queen of England, the refuge of wicked men.

Having taken possession of the kingdom, she monstrously usurps the chief authority in the Church and fills the Royal Council with heretics. We declare the said Elizabeth a heretic, and a fautor of heretics, and that all who adhere to her incur the sentence of anathema, and are cut off from the unity of the Body of Christ. Moreover, that she has forfeited her pretended title to the aforesaid kingdom, and is deprived of all dominion, dignity, and privilege. We declare that nobles, subjects, and peoples are free from any oath to her, and we interdict obedience to her monitions, mandates, and laws. (5) Stephen Budiansky , Her Majesty's Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham, and the Birth of Modern Espionage (2005) From France, Walsingham picked up one thread of the mystery.

In May 1571, he wrote Burghley that he had heard of Ridolfi's meeting with Alva and the fact that he was carrying with him letters of credence from the Spanish Ambassador in London; after a long conference with Alva, the Florentine had continued on to see both the Pope and the King of Spain. But what Ridolfi's secret business was, Walsingham had been completely unable to determine. The break in the case came obliquely, explosively, in August. A merchant reported to Burghley a strange business that he thought his Lordship should know of. The merchant had been asked by the Duke of Norfolk to carry a shipment north. The load seemed unusually heavy; upon investigation, it turned out to be £600 in gold, plus several letters in cipher. Burghley quickly arrested the Duke's secretary and ordered a search of the Duke's great London house. He was hoping to find the cipher key, but his searchers instead found.yet another cipher letter, hidden, with a subtlety well befitting the Duke's skills as a conspirator, under a mat at the entrance to his bedroom.

The Duke's sweating secretary at this point, under further interrogation, suddenly remembered that the Duke had received letters in cipher from the Queen of Scots; it was a point that had slipped his mind until then. The Bishop of Ross, who had passed a not unpleasant summer in the custody of the Bishop of Ely at his country house, hunting and amiably debating theology, was now brought to the Tower and threatened with more rigorous interrogation himself. He pleaded diplomatic immunity; Burghley countered with a written opinion from the Doctors of Law that "an ambassador procuring an insurrection or rebellion in the Prince's country toward whom he is an ambassador" has forfeited this privilege; whereupon Ross spilled his guts. Norfolk, he confessed, had been in on the plot from the start. The Duke was in fact the mysterious "40" to whom Ridolfi's progress report had been addressed; "30" was Lord Lumley, a leading Catholic nobleman. Ridolfi had carried letters and money from the Pope to advance the effort.

Norfolk had refused to put his name directly to the letters Ridolfi had carried abroad from de Spes, letters that Ross now admitted laid out the whole invasion plan to Alva and the Pope; but Ross and Ridolfi had personally assured de Spes that Norfolk had given his word that he subscribed to the plan, and on that basis the Spanish Ambassador had agreed to lend his support. The plan that Norfolk had endorsed envisioned the Catholic lords assembling 20,000 infantry and 3,000 horse; Alva would supply 6,000 arquebusiers, 3,000 horse, and 25 pieces of field artillery. Harwich was the port most suitable for the invasion force. The plan also called for two diversionary forces, z,ooo men each, to be sent to Scotland and Ireland. Included in Ridolfi's letters were a list of 40 English noblemen likely to stand with the rebellion. Ross was so terrified of the rack that once he began confessing he could scarcely stop. He dashed off a letter to Mary commending her henceforth to trust only to God; it was obviously His providence that so misguided a plot as this had been uncovered.

In a rush of anguish, Ross blurted out to his interrogator, Dr. Thomas Wilson, that Mary had practically murdered all three of her husbands, was unfit to be any man's wife. "Lord, what a people are these!" Thomas remarked to Burghley afterward. "What a Queen, and what an ambassador." The plot was ludicrous in many ways; it would much later be known that, although Alva approved of its purpose, he thought Ridolfi a fool and that an invasion made sense only if Elizabeth was first killed or deposed. "A man like this," Alva wrote to Philip of Ridolfi, "who is no soldier, who has never witnessed a campaign in his life, thinks that armies can be poured out of the air, or kept up one's sleeve, and he will do with them whatever fancy suggests." Realistic or not, it was indubitably treasonous. Norfolk was rearrested and, "falling on his knees, confessed his undutiful and foolish doings," reported the gentlemen who had been sent to bring him to the Tower.

The Duke was carried through the streets of London "without any trouble," his escorts added, "save a number of idle, rascal people, women, men, boys, girls, running about him, as the manner is, gaffing at him." The realm's last duke was arraigned and condemned by a jury of his peers, and sent to the scaffold on the and of June 1572. The Spanish Ambassador was expelled; in a parting shot, he tried to encourage two glory-dreaming English Catholics to assassinate Burghley, a plot that promptly unraveled when the men sent an anonymous letter to Burghley warning him of it themselves. Ridolfi dispatched one final letter to Mary from Paris, lamenting that circumstances, alas, did not permit him to return to England. Made a Senator of Rome by the Pope, he peacefully lived out the remainder of his eighty years, dying in his native Florence in 1612. Ross, and Baillie, were eventually released: All things come to those who wait. Mary was ordered to reduce the size of her entourage to sixteen servants.

She wrote more pathetic pleas to Elizabeth and Burghley bemoaning her "feeble state" and that of her faithful, dismissed servants. (6) Elizabeth Jenkins , Elizabeth the Great (1958) Roberto Ridolfi, a Florentine banker, whose optimism was based on a hopeless inability to understand the temper of the English nation, had evolved a plan to seize the Queen and Council, liberate Mary Stuart and place her on the English throne and restore the Catholic religion. Through the Bishop of Ross he brought Norfolk into touch with Mary once more, and Mary, far distant as she was, rekindled in his mind the fatal enthusiasm for her cause. In the four major plots in which she was concerned during her eighteen years' imprisonment, the crucial question in each case was whether she had plotted or connived at the murder of Elizabeth. Her own story was that she never had. She had, naturally, and as she always said she would, used every means to gain her own freedom, but her plans, she swore most solemnly, had never included the murder of the English Queen. She had sworn, too, that she never intended the murder of her husband, who was now festering in his shroud.

Ridolfi had received through Ross a paper of detailed instructions agreed on by Mary and Norfolk; these empowered him to ask the Duke of Alva for guns, ammunition, armour and money, and 10,000 men, of whom 4,000, it was suggested, might make a diversion in Ireland. The instructions contained a clause that the most important part of Ridolfi's mission he would convey by word of mouth only. Ridolfi went to Brussels, where the much-tried Alva heard him with mounting annoyance and dismay. Alva was holding his position in the Netherlands only with difficulty, and the suggestion that he should send away 10,000 of his men took no account of what was to happen behind their backs. Ridolfi went on his way towards Madrid and Alva sent express to the Spanish Ambassador at the Papal Court, urging him to give the Pope a realistic account of the difficulties inherent in the scheme; otherwise, he feared that the Pope's would be yet another voice, assuring him at a great distance from the scene of action that with the forces at his command, the conquest of England might readily be undertaken.

He then wrote to Philip: he said that to wage a serious war in England would be out of the question, and this was what invasion would mean-so long as Elizabeth were alive. "But," he wrote, "if the Queen of England should die, either a natural or any other death" - then he would feel justified in lending troops for a rapid operation to put Mary Stuart on the vacant throne. Ridolfi arrived in Madrid and presented his written credentials. As he then stated that Elizabeth was to be murdered, it is assumed that this was the subject of the instructions that were too compromising to write down. Later in the day, the Council of State debated his mission. The invasion of England and the assassination of its Queen were discussed as two parts of the same operation. The most tepid member of the Council was the King himself. His heavy commitments against the Moors in the south east of Spain, the Turks in the Mediterranean and the revolting Netherland provinces, as well as his natural dislike of rash enterprises, made Philip fully agree with Alva that nothing expensive should be done for the plotters until they had done something for themselves.

Let them seize the Council and put the Queen to death; then they should have help to maintain their position. Ridolfi had failed to get help abroad; he now plunged the conspirators in ruin at home. He wrote full and compromising reports of his interviews with Alva to the Queen of Scots, Norfolk, the Bishop of Ross and de Spes, and sent them in cipher to England by his agent Bailly. Burleigh's watch on the ports was so close that Bailly was arrested at Dover. He was taken to the Tower and tortured on the rack, and the information wrung from him led to the arrest of the Bishop of Ross. BBC - History - Elizabeth's Spy Network Elizabeth's Spy Network By Alexandra Briscoe Last updated 2011-02-17 As a Protestant Queen, Elizabeth was forced to live with the threat of assassination from Catholics throughout her reign. But there was an army of men working in secret to protect the Queen. These were her spies, her secret service, and they were overseen by the most ruthless spy master of them all: Francis Walsingham.

On this page Print this page The Queen in danger The long and successful reign of Elizabeth I proved that a woman could be as effective and popular a monarch as any King. But there existed around the Queen a critical support structure which was made up almost exclusively of men. This was her network of spies supervised by Walsingham, one of Elizabeth's most loyal ministers, and their aim was to safeguard the life of the Queen. The efficiency of this network unearthed a series of plots to overthrow Elizabeth and replace her with the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots. It is a testament to the success of this secret service that Elizabeth died peacefully of old age and not at the hands of an assassin. ...the threat to her life was growing ever more serious. In the early years of her reign William Cecil (later Lord Burghley) had been overseeing the gathering of intelligence, but once Mary Queen of Scots arrived on English soil things moved up a gear. She was a magnet for conspiracy, the perfect focus for discontented Catholics who refused to conform to Elizabeth's Protestant faith. A number of plots came to light, such as the Northern Uprising of 1569 and the Ridolfi Plot two years later, which centred on rescuing Mary.

So far, the plots had been uncovered in time and disaster had been averted. But the threat to her life was growing ever more serious. Realising the scale of the task ahead he called upon the man who was to become known as Elizabeth's spy master, Francis Walsingham. Top Walsingham and his spies Walsingham had studied as a lawyer and was intelligent, serious and disciplined. He held strong Protestant beliefs, and had gone to live abroad during the reign of the Catholic Mary I. But when Protestantism was re-established under Elizabeth I, he returned to England and became Secretary of State in 1568. Quick-witted and ruthless, he was soon playing a critical role in intelligence-gathering operations. Without the other commitments which had taken up much of Cecil's time, Walsingham could devote himself to overseeing Elizabeth's secret service. This he did with zeal. He was strict, almost Puritan in his religious beliefs, and passionate about protecting the country from Catholic threat. Spies were posted to live abroad who could supply him with intelligence on the politics and attitudes of Catholic countries towards England. This information enabled Walsingham to piece together, for example, the policy of the Pope towards Elizabeth.

Armed also with information from spies based in this country, Walsingham could trace lines of communication between Catholics here and abroad, and keep track of any plots. The world of a spy was not, however, one of glamour and intrigue. The world of a spy was not, however, one of glamour and intrigue. Many spies were ambitious undergraduates recruited from Oxford and Cambridge who saw this as a route to fame and fortune. But the reality was quite different. Long journeys, low pay and the logistical difficulties of delivering information meant that, unless involved in a high-profile success, the work of a spy was often thankless and mundane. More challenging was the area of intelligence-gathering. This kind of work included travelling abroad to gather information on national security. Top Coded letters Intelligence work also involved learning how to break the different codes used by plotters in their correspondence. Often, letters of the alphabet were shuffled in a certain sequence and, once the key was worked out, the message could be read and understood. Alternatively individual letters could be substituted with numbers, symbols or signs of the zodiac. But spies had to learn not only how to decipher code but also how to write it themselves.

This was frustrating and time-consuming work, paid off only by the satisfaction of finally cracking a difficult code. ...spies had to learn not only how to decipher code but also how to write it themselves. Some codes could only be understood by placing a sheet of paper punched with holes over the top so that just the relevant letters making up the message could be read. Success therefore depended on calculating the exact sequence of thousands of holes. Also popular was the practice of conveying information in invisible ink. Written in milk or lemon juice, the secret message could be read as the page was warmed over a candle and the letters appeared. Innocent text in normal ink was often written alongside the hidden message in order to throw a spy off the scent. Walsingham knew that this work was critical to his success, and established a spy school to provide formal training for recruits. The security of the country was at stake, after all. Mistakes were unthinkable. Top The Babington plot For reasons of security Mary, Queen of Scots was regularly moved from one residence to another. She still had her entourage and spent her days sewing, reading or hunting, but in reality Mary was a prisoner. She did not, however, realise the level of scrutiny she was under.

Walsingham loathed Mary and everything she stood for, and vowed to bring her down. It was to take him almost 20 years. But when he discovered in 1586 that she was corresponding with a group of Catholics led by the young Anthony Babington, he seized his chance. For the first stage of his plan, Walsingham used a spy named Gifford to act as a double agent. Gifford persuaded the local brewer to encourage Mary to use him as a secret means of communicating with the outside world. By establishing a system whereby Mary's personal letters were carried in and out of Chartley (her current residence) hidden in a beer barrel, Walsingham was able to intercept and decode her correspondence. The relatively simple code used by Mary was quickly deciphered, and translations were provided for Elizabeth. These letters were then resealed and sent on to their destination or delivered to Mary in prison. And so the plot progressed. Walsingham could now move in for the kill. Walsingham, meanwhile, was biding his time. Luckily for him, Babington and his friends were enthusiastic but inexperienced plotters and were happy to discuss their plans in public.

It was therefore not difficult for the authorities to keep track of their movements. Having outlined his plans to Mary, Babington now tried to secure her participation in the plot. This was the moment Walsingham had been waiting for. When the vital letter from Mary asking for details was intercepted, a postscript was forged in her hand asking for the identities of the plotters. The names were duly supplied, and their fate was sealed. Mary's involvement in the plot had been proven, and a gallows was drawn on the page by the decoding expert. Walsingham could now move in for the kill. By now Babington and the others, realising something was wrong, had gone into hiding. But Walsingham was one step ahead and they were quickly captured and tried. Elizabeth, keen to signal a warning against further plots, ordered that their executions be public and brutal. The men were hung, drawn and quartered. Top Mary's downfall Mary realised that she had fallen into the trap set by Walsingham, and launched a personal attack on him during her trial.

'Spies are men of doubtful credit,' she said, 'who make a show of one thing and speak another.' But there was to be no escape and, found guilty of treason, Mary was sentenced to death. Mary realised that she had fallen into the trap set by Walsingham... The execution took place on 8 February 1587 in the Great Hall at Fotheringhay, but even now events did not go according to plan. The executioner, understandably nervous, missed his aim and it took three blows of his axe to sever her head. Horrified onlookers said that, for fifteen minutes afterwards, her lips continued to move in silent prayer. With Mary dead, Walsingham's life work was now complete and he died just three years later. Throughout Elizabeth's reign he had done more than anyone else to ensure her personal safety. But the Queen, though appreciative of his actions, was never close to Walsingham in the way that she was to Cecil or Leicester. She distrusted his Puritan leanings and was wary of his manner and intellect. Reluctant as always to spend money, the Queen had never provided proper funding for his work.

Walsingham, devoted to the Queen and determined to protect the country's Protestant faith, had put most of his own money into making sure his spy network was a success. He left as his legacy the most advanced and efficient secret service of its time. Find out more Books Invisible Power: The Elizabethan Secret Services 1570 - 1603 by Alan Haynes (Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd, 1992) On The Trail of Mary Queen of Scots by J. Keith Cheetham (Luath Press Ltd, 1999) The English Captivity of Mary Queen of Scots by Patrick Collinson (Sheffield History Pamphlets, 1987) Mary Queen of Scots by Rosalind K Marshall (HMSO, 1991) Elizabeth the Queen by Alison Weir (Pimlico, 1999) The Virgin Queen by Christopher Hibbert (Viking, 1990) The Word of a Prince by Maria Perry (The Boydell Press, 1990) Top About the author Alexandra Briscoe has a background in documentary programme-making.

She is Assistant Producer on Simon Schama's A History of Britain, specialising in the reign of Elizabeth I for the programme entitled The Body of the Queen.

Question: The Ridolfi Plot planned the assassination of which British monarch?
Answer: Queen Elizabeth I