Papal Excommunication of Elizabeth I

On 25 February 1570 Pope Pius V issued the bull Regnans in Excelsis excommunicating Elizabeth I and declaring her deprived of her claimed royal authority. The act sharpened an already dangerous conflict between the English crown, Catholic dissenters and foreign Catholic powers.

The bull did not create English Catholic opposition, but it made questions of religious loyalty more politically explosive and contributed to government fears that recusancy could be linked with foreign intervention or plots involving Mary, Queen of Scots.

Steven Veerapen’s Divided Loyalties is set in 1570 and places the fictional Jack and Amy Cole inside this atmosphere of Catholic conspiracy, intelligence work and international intrigue. The excommunication is historical; the Diamond League and central spy plot are fictional.