The Tudor Society

Plots, conspiracies, spies and assassinations quiz

This week's quiz is all about Tudor spies, plots, conspiracies and assassinations.

Plots, conspiracies, spies and assassinations

Q1) Who has gone down in history as Elizabeth I's "spymaster"?

William Cecil

Francis Walsingham

William Davies

Amyas Paulet

Correct! He was also Elizabeth's Secretary of State.
Wrong! It was Francis Walsingham, who also acted as her Secretary of State.

Q2) Which Tudor man signed his documents with a "007" glyph, which may have provided inspiration for Ian Fleming's fictional character James Bond?

Francis Walsingham

Edward Kelley

John Dee

Robert Dudley

Correct! John Dee was an astrologer, mathematician, alchemist, antiquarian, spy, philosopher, geographer and adviser to virtually every prominent statesman, explorer and scientist of his day.
Wrong! It was Dr John Dee. He was an astrologer, mathematician, alchemist, antiquarian, spy, philosopher, geographer and adviser to virtually every prominent statesman, explorer and scientist of his day.

Q3) In the 1998 film "Elizabeth", starring Cate Blanchett, attempts are made on the Queen's life by poisoning one of her dresses and shooting at her while she rides in her barge. Did these events really take place?

Yes, they both took place.

No, neither of them took place.

The poisoned dress is fiction but the Queen was shot at.

The shooting incident is fiction but the poisoned dress incident is true.

Correct! There is no record in the primary sources of one of Elizabeth's maids being poisoned while trying on one of the Queen's dresses, but Elizabeth was shot at while travelling in the royal barge, but the shot came from a gun not a crossbow. One of the Queen’s bargemen collapsed from a bullet wound which was clearly intended for the Queen. As Elizabeth passed him her handkerchief to put on his wound, She said “Be of good cheer, for you will never want. For the bullet was meant for me.”
Wrong! There is no record in the primary sources of one of Elizabeth's maids being poisoned while trying on one of the Queen's dresses, but Elizabeth was shot at while travelling in the royal barge, but the shot came from a gun not a crossbow.

Q4) What happened to Lambert Simnel, the Pretender and figurehead of the Earl of Lincoln's rebellion against Henry VII in 1487?

He was hanged drawn and quartered.

He escaped into exile.

He was beheaded.

He was pardoned and given a job in the royal kitchens.

Correct! He was given a job as a spit-turner in the royal kitchens and later became a falconer.
Wrong! Simnel was given a job as a spit-turner in the royal kitchens and later became a falconer.

Q5) Who was executed in May 1521 after allegedly plotting against the King?

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham

Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk

Correct! Stafford was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and Katherine Woodville, and he had Plantagenet blood.
Wrong! It was Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and Katherine Woodville.

Q6) Which member of the peerage joined the conspirators of Wyatt's Rebellion in December 1553?

Earl of Devon

Duke of Norfolk

Duke of Northumberland

Duke of Suffolk

Correct! Suffolk was the father of Lady Jane Grey who was imprisoned in the Tower of London at this point.
Wrong! It was Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, whose daughter Lady Jane Grey was imprisoned in the Tower of London at this point.

Q7) Who was taken to the Tower of London on 18th March 1554 for alleged involvement in Wyatt's Rebellion?

Lady Jane Grey

Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon

Robert Dudley

Mary I's half-sister, the future Elizabeth I

Correct! Elizabeth was kept there until 19th May 1554 when she was released into house arrest.
Wrong! It was Elizabeth I. She was kept there until 19th May 1554 when she was released into house arrest.

Q8) The Babington Plot against Elizabeth I was named after Anthony Babington, its leader, but the plot was actually thought to be the brainchild of...

John Ballard

Chidiock Tichborne

Henry Donne

Robert Barnwell

Correct! Ballard was a Jesuit priest who approached Babington with his idea.
Wrong! It is thought to have been cooked up by Jesuit priest John Ballard.

Q9) Who was stabbed to death in 1593 in what appears to have been a drunken fight, but some believe to have been an assassination?

Robert Pakington

Christopher Marlowe

Edward de Vere

Robert Poley

Correct! Some believe that it was down to his undercover work, some believe it to have been down to his religious views .
Wrong! It was poet and playwright Christopher Marlowe.

Q10) Don Bernardino de Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador, was thrown out of England and sent back to Spain after his involvement in which plot?

Babington Plot

Ridolfi Plot

Wyatt's Rebellion

Throgmorton Plot

Correct! In 1583 Francis Throgmorton had been acting as a go-between for Mary, Queen of Scots, her agent Thomas Morgan and Mendoza. The plot aimed to assassinate Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.
Wrong! The plot was the 1583 Throgmorton Plot. Francis Throgmorton had been acting as a go-between for Mary, Queen of Scots, her agent Thomas Morgan and Mendoza. The plot aimed to assassinate Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.

Q11) In what year was merchant Robert Pakington shot dead while on his way to Mass at the Mercers' chapel?

1540

1532

1536

1544

Correct! Martyrologist John Foxe believed that Pakington, who was a reformer, had been assassinated by the Catholic Church. He first blamed John Stokesley, Bishop of London, and later wrote that John Incent, Dean of St Paul's, had confessed to the murder on his death bed.
Wrong! He was killed in November 1536. Martyrologist John Foxe believed that Pakington, who was a reformer, had been assassinated by the Catholic Church. He first blamed John Stokesley, Bishop of London, and later wrote that John Incent, Dean of St Paul's, had confessed to the murder on his death bed.

Q12) In 1587 which ambassador was placed under house arrest for allegedly plotting to poison Elizabeth I?

The Spanish ambassador

The Moroccan Ambassador

The Imperial Ambassador

The French Ambassador

Correct! It was Baron de Châteauneuf.
Wrong! It was Baron de Châteauneuf the French ambassador.

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