Popish Plot saying that "the King gets the curse of many good and faithful wives such as myself for his bad example". Danby, who seems initially to have believed in the Plot, advised the king to order an investigation. Charles II denied the request, maintaining that the entire affair was absurd. He told Danby to keep the events secret so as not to put the idea of regicide into people's minds. However, word of the manuscript spread to the Duke of York, who publicly called for an investigation into the matter. Even Charles admitted that given the sheer number of allegations, he
A Ballad upon the Popish Plot to Elizabeth Somerset Herbert Powis (1633–1691) who, along with her husband William Herbert, first Marquess of Powis (or Powys), was one of the most influential Roman Catholics of that time. As one of the “Five Catholic Lords” falsely accused by Titus Oates of plotting in the King’s assassination, her husband was imprisoned in the Tower of London for six years. Her attempts to free him in the so-called “Meal-tub Plot” very nearly led to her own conviction for treason. This ballad is one of a group on the Popish Plot included in the Bagford Ballad collection, whose ballads depict the