Which princess did the Gunpowder Plot conspirators plan to place on the throne after killing James I?

The Gunpowder Plot conspirators planned to place Princess Elizabeth on the throne after killing James I.

Elizabeth Stuart was James I’s nine-year-old daughter in 1605. The plotters intended to seize her and use her as a figurehead for a Catholic-led change of government after destroying Parliament and killing the king. Their plan included taking Elizabeth from Coombe Abbey, near Coventry, where she was staying under the care of Lord Harington.

This part of the plan was never attempted because the conspiracy collapsed when the warning letter led authorities to search the parliamentary cellars. The plotters then fled toward the Midlands, while Elizabeth remained safe.

Elizabeth later became known as the Winter Queen after marrying Frederick V, Elector Palatine, in 1613. Their daughter Sophia became heir to the English throne under the Act of Settlement, making Elizabeth an ancestor of the later Hanoverian and British royal families.