Robert Cecil

Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, plays 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. To this day, there are historians who believe that sufficient evidence exists 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 believe. (MA: The Plotters,VG: The Gunpowder Plot)