Ridolfi Plot

Conspiracy of 1571 led by the Italian banker Roberto Ridolfi with Spanish and papal backing to replace Elizabeth I with Mary Queen of Scots. Spanish troops in the Netherlands were to invade England and lead a Catholic uprising against Elizabeth. The plot was discovered before it became a serious threat. Ridolfi was overseas at the time but another conspirator, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, was executed the following year. Mary was placed in stricter confinement as a result of the plot.