If you ever needed proof that Elizabethan politics could veer straight into the ridiculous,

look no further than the moment a man seriously proposed blowing up the queen's bed while she slept.

And not just any plotter.

This one happened to have a mother who slept in that same room right next to Elizabeth every single night.

When assassination theory meets family drama, this is what you get.

Settle in, my friend, grab a beverage, get cozy, and let's discuss maybe one of the most hairbrained plots ever.

Music Maybe one of the most hairbrained plots ever? Hey friend, welcome back to the YouTube channel for the Renaissance English History Podcast.

I am your host, Heather.

I've been podcasting on Tudor England since 2009 with my show, which makes it the original Tudor History podcast.

I am, as always, delighted that you are here with me today to talk about this most ridiculous

plot to blow up Elizabeth. Was it more than that, though? Was it actually intelligence gathering?

Let's dig in. The would-be conspirator in question was William Stafford.

He came from a family stacked with Plantagenet Bloodline. His grandmother was Ursula Pole,

daughter of Margaret Pole and great-granddaughter of George Duke of Clarence, the one who was famously drowned in Momsie

wine. William Stafford had grown up partly on the continent because his Protestant parents

fled England during Mary the First's reign. They lived in Geneva and Basel and mixed with heavy

hitters like John Calvin and John Knox.

By the time the family returned to England under Elizabeth, William was well-educated,

well-connected, and very aware of how to live in court circles.

His mother was even more deeply embedded in the Tudor world.

Lady Dorothy Stafford was one of the women

who was closest to Elizabeth. The formal title, Mistress of the Robs, did not yet exist, but that is

...