The Babington Plot was a Catholic plot in 1586 to assassinate
Queen Elizabeth, a Protestant, and put Mary, Queen of Scots, a
Catholic, on the English throne. It led to the execution of Mary.
The long-term goal was an invasion by the Spanish forces of King
Philip II and the Catholic league in France, leading to the
restoration of the Catholic religion in England. The chief
conspirator was Sir Anthony Babington (1561-1586), a young Catholic
nobleman. The leading Catholics in England were loyal to Elizabeth
and rebuffed overtures to support the plot. The actual designers
were Don Bernardino de Mendoza in Paris and King Philip II in
Madrid.