England

A 20th-century fresco 'Plucking the Red and White Roses in the Old Temple Gardens' by Henry Payne. It depicts a scene by Shakespeare, showing Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset being challenged by Richard, 3rd Duke of York to choose between the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster. (Photo by Artefact / Alamy Stock Photo)

7 things you (probably) didn’t know about the houses of Lancaster and York

Fred Perry in action in the Wimbledon final in 1936. (Photo by Getty Images)

Fred Perry: the icon and the outcast

Margaret of Anjou married Henry VI of England in 1445

Margaret of Anjou: a brief guide to the ‘She-Wolf of France’

Elizabeth Woodville with her husband, Edward IV. According to one medieval document, their marriage only came about “by Sorcerie and Wichecrafte, committed by the said Elizabeth, and her Moder Jaquett Duchess of Bedford”. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Medieval royal witches: from Elizabeth Woodville to Queen Joan of Navarre

Colour portrait of Jane Austen (1775–1817) drawn by her sister Cassandra. Dated 1810. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Jane Austen: a guide to her life, books and death – plus 8 fascinating facts

Illustration by Eleanor Shakespeare

“Make love not midnight snacks”: a social history of slimming clubs

The battle of Stoke Field – German mercenary Martin Schwarz made a famous last stand in the thick of the fighting even as other elements of the rebel army turned and fled

The battle of Stoke Field, 1487 – the real last battle of the Wars of the Roses

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Britain's Greatest Prime Minister Podcast Series From HistoryExtra

Who was Britain’s greatest prime minister? Episode 9: Secrets of being a successful leader . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A c1850 satirical illustration of King John signing Magna Charta. (Photo by the Print Collector/Getty Images)

Is 15 June 1215 the true date of Magna Carta? Two historians debate

Actor Errol Flynn as Robin Hood in the film 'The Adventures of Robin Hood', 1938. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

What’s the most accurate Robin Hood film?

Defining moments: Agincourt may have been the springboard for Henry V's conquest of Normandy but it was the treaty of Troyes that secured his position as next in line to the crown of France. (Photo by Getty Images)

Henry V’s greatest victory (and it wasn’t at the battle of Agincourt)

English sailors engage the French invasion fleet at the battle of Sandwich in 1217.

The battle of Sandwich: England’s medieval Trafalgar

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Britain's Greatest Prime Minister Podcast Series From HistoryExtra

Who was Britain’s greatest prime minister? Episode 8: Margaret Thatcher . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A scene from Perceval, one of the Arthurian romances attributed to Chretien De Troyes

Who was Chrétien de Troyes, and why are his Arthurian romances important?

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John Higgs discusses the extraordinary life and art of William Blake – an eccentric outsider once dismissed as a madman, but now hailed as a genius. (Image by Getty Images)

William Blake: “artist or genius, or mystic, or madman” . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.