Jubilee Plot

The Jubilee Plot was a failed assassination attempt on Queen Victoria during her Golden Jubilee which was held on 20 June 1887.

In 1887, the British police uncovered the ‘Jubilee Plot’, a plan to blow up Westminster Abbey, Queen Victoria and half the British Cabinet.

The bombers were linked, by letters, to Charles Parnell and other Irish MPs who supported Irish independence.

The ‘ringleader’ of the plot was Francis Millen of the Clan na Gael. He was allowed to escape to the USA where he died in mysterious circumstances.

The case against Parnell collapsed.

The letters were shown to be forgeries, written by Dublin journalist Richard Pigott and sold to The Times.

According to British journalist Christy Campbell, in his book "Fenian Fire: The British Government Plot to Assassinate Queen Victoria", Millen had been recruited by the British government 'to stir the Fenians into bombing Britain' – a scheme designed to discredit the Home Rule movement. Campbell further claimed that Millen was hired with the approval of the Conservative leader, Lord Salisbury, the Prime Minister. [cite news
url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2002/05/19/do1902.xml
title=When the prime minister plotted to kill the queen
author=Andrew Roberts
date=19th May, 2002
work=The Telegraph]

References