Robert Cecil

Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, played a very interesting part in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was a trusted servant of James I who was all but a prime minister in Stuart England. Historians believed that sufficient evidence existed to show that Cecil orchestrated the whole plot — unknown to the plotters — to convince James I that Catholics were not to be trusted and that they should once and for all be thrown out of the country. Cecil was the skilled puppet master and Guy Fawkes and company were the puppets in his total control — so some believed. (PROSE: The Plotters) Another account stated William Parker, Baron Monteagle, showed Salisbury the Monteagle letter, which Salisbury used to expose the Robert Catesby-led plot. (GAME: The Gunpowder Plot)

Behind the scenes

 * He was played by Toby Jones in the HBO miniseries Elizabeth I and Mark Gatiss in the BBC series Gunpowder.