|Home Codes and Ciphers Mary| The Babington plot, which was the
undoing of Mary, Queen of Scots, was one of several conspiracies
against Elizabeth I that were uncovered. The Ridolfi Plot In
1571 a plot was discovered involving Philip II of Spain, Pope
Pius V and the Duke of Norfolk, as well as Mary’s advisor, the
Bishop of Ross, and Mary herself. At its heart was Roberto
Ridolfi, a Florentine banker based in London. Ridolfi traveled
to Rome and Madrid to raise support for an invasion of eastern
England and an uprising of Catholics, which would be followed by
the marriage of the Duke of Norfolk to Mary, Queen of Scots, who
would seize the English throne. When Ridolfi’s messenger was
arrested at Dover, incriminating letters were seized and Norfolk
was arrested, tried for high treason and found guilty. He was
executed on Tower Hill on 2 June 1572. Ridolfi was abroad when
the plot was uncovered and escaped this fate. Elizabeth was
reluctant to authorise the execution of a fellow queen, but Mary
was kept under eve