Shakespeares mother, Mary Arden, had a group of cousins who were known at the time as bad eggs. Around the 1580s, Shakespeares first removed cousin William Arden, Williams son Edward, and Edwards son-in-law John Somerville, got caught up in a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I. Historical records arent entirely clear on who did what, but we know that Somerville was arrested for plotting an assassination, which led to a raid on the Arden household. William Arden might have escaped with his life, but Ed and Somerville were certainly beheaded for the plan. By many accounts John Somerville was arrested for shouting in public about killing the Queen, and wasnt of sound mind. Nevertheless, he was executed along with half his family. With judges that paranoid, no wonder Shakespeare kept that piece of family history to himself.
