 It was also claimed that the plotters were seeking French military aid and that they planned to seize and fortify towns to become Royalist strongholds.The exposure of the plots by leading Parliamentarians such as John Pym allowed the Parliament faction to gain the upper hand by imprisoning or forcing into exile many of the king's supporters, including his wife Henrietta Maria.According to Conrad Russell, it remains unclear "who plotted with whom to do what" and that "Charles I's plots, like his grandmother's lovers, are capable of growing in the telling".