Cabal, the

Group of politicians, the English king Charles II's counsellors 1667-73, whose initials made up the word by coincidence - Clifford (Thomas Clifford 1630-1673), Ashley (Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury), Buckingham (George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham), Arlington (Henry Bennett, 1st Earl of Arlington 1618-1685), and Lauderdale (John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale). The word cabal, meaning ‘association of intriguers’, is now applied to any faction that works in secret for private or political ends.