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British military behind a barricade, 1916. (Photo by ullstein picture via Getty Images)

The Easter Rising: when Ireland went to war

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Osborne House from terrace.

Inside Osborne: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s island residence . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784 - 1865), the British Liberal statesman who served almost continually as Prime Minister between 1855 and 1865, pictured circa 1860. (Photo by Herbert Fry/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Lord Palmerston: the people’s champion

An illustration from 1883 shows the phrenology chart of the skull

The Victorian phrenology craze

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Anita Anand, photographed in London.

Books interview with Anita Anand: “Singh hoped that he would be the catalyst for a revolution” . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Seeking to remove opponents who questioned his right to be head of church and state, Henry VIII was ruthless in his pursuit of those he deemed traitors. (Image by Alamy)

Henry VIII’s hitmen: the Tudor king’s secret hunt for traitors

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The west Cornish tomb Lanyon Quoit, which dates to the Neolithic period (3500–2500 BC). The Anglo-Saxons believed that ancient burial sites were cursed – and guarded by dragons. (Image by Dreamstime)

Giants, dragons and Middle Earth: the Anglo-Saxon fear of the past . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A protester in a headlock, Southall, April 1979, when a member of the Anti-Nazi League died after being struck on the head. (Images by Getty Images)

1979: Britain in meltdown

Thatcher holds up two shopping bags to show how much less a pound would buy due to inflation under Labour. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Are we still living in Thatcher’s Britain?

A souvenir for a burlesque adaptation of the classic opera 'Carmen' at the Gaiety Theatre, 1890. (Image by Bridgeman)

Victorian burlesque: cheap thrills for the chattering classes

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Empire Cinema and Casino, Leicester Square, London. It was originally a theatre and ballet venue, before reopening as a music hall in 1884. (Image by Alamy)

History explorer: The birth of British cinema . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The photogenic Trevi Fountain is a highlight of most visits to Rome. (Image by Getty Images)

My favourite place: Rome, Italy

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Wilfred Thesiger in Oman, c1946.

My history hero: Frank Gardner chooses Wilfred Thesiger . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Blenheim Palace in a c1880 print from ‘A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland’, edited by Reverend FO Morris, Volume I, William Mackenzie, London. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

10 things you might not know about Blenheim Palace

Robert E Lee (seated at the table, left) surrenders to Union commander Ulysses S Grant at Appomattox Court House. (Image by Alamy)

A battle of wills: why the South lost the American Civil War