Robert Poley, or Pooley (fl. 1568– aft. 1602) was an English double agent, government messenger and agent provocateur employed by members of the Privy Council during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I; he was described as "the very genius of the Elizabethan underworld".[1] Poley is particularly noted for his central role in uncovering the so-called Babington plot to assassinate the Queen in 1586,[2] and for being a witness of, and even a possible party to, the reported killing in self-defence by Ingram Frizer of the famous poet/dramatist Christopher Marlowe in May 1593.