Early comic panel illustration

England

Princess Margaret and her husband, Lord Snowdon, in San Francisco during a visit to America, November 1965. (Photo by Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images)

“Cheap men and expensive bottles”: Princess Margaret’s love affairs

Extinction Rebellion take over Trafalgar Square, London, in protest on 16 October 2019. (Photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

From William Wordsworth to Extinction Rebellion: a history of Britain's green activists. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Gin Lane, a print issued in 1751 by painter and printmaker William Hogarth. It depicts the perceived evils of the consumption of gin. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

The 18th-century craze for gin

Inside the fort was a famous spring, St Helen’s Well, today Robin Hood’s Well. (© Bill Henderson)

Brunanburh: Where did the battle that saved England take place?

Peter Hennessy on Britain in transition. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the death of King Harold II during the battle of Hastings in 1066. (Photo by Getty Images)

Where did the battle of Hastings actually take place? 8 facts about the 1066 battle

Illustration of pirate John Ward

Pirate John Ward: the real Captain Jack Sparrow

The trial of Lady Chatterley’s Lover: how the 'obscene' book caused a moral storm

1651, Charles Prince of Wales (1630 - 1685) (later King Charles II of England) meets Sir Henry Lee near Oxford during the Civil War, while escaping after the Battle of Worcester.

How Charles II put Britain back together after the Civil War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Billy Fullerton, gang chief of the Glasgow gang the Billy Boys

Who were the real Billy Boys, the Glasgow gang in Peaky Blinders?

War criminal? William the Conqueror shown on horseback in the Bayeux Tapestry. The king's Harrying of the North was a military success but a human catastrophe – one that even appalled chroniclers traditionally sympathetic to the Norman regime. (Photo by Bridgeman)

Was William the Conqueror a war criminal? The brutal story of the Harrying of the North

Giant of literature: A page from the 'Beowulf' manuscript. The story is fictional but some of the characters within it were real people, and others were believed to be the ancestors of Anglo-Saxon and Danish kings. (Photo by Alamy)

Beowulf: The Anglo-Saxons' action hero

Half-timbered medieval cottages, Water Street, Lavenham, Suffolk, England, (Photo by Getty Images)

History explorerA wealth of history: Laversham, Sulfolk

William Dalrymple is an award-winning writer and historian based in India. (Photo by Bikramjt Bose)

“This was a corporation that could topple kings”: William Dalrymple on the East India Company. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

British journalist Tom Wintringham (1898–1949), the candidate for the Christian Socialist Commonwealth Party. (Photo by Haywood Magee/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

History heroPeter Tatchell chooses Tom Wintringham (1898–1949). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The murder of Thomas Becket

Q&A: What happened to the assassins who killed Thomas Becket?

A portrait of George V's wife, Queen Mary, who was born Princess Mary of Teck.

Was Queen Mary, wife of George V, a kleptomaniac?

A portrait of prime minister Lord Frederick North. His government was the first to be brought down by a vote of no confidence, in 1782. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Vote of no confidence: a brief history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting by Italian painter Defendente Ferrari (c1480-1540) showing a Saint performing a miracle.

Medieval saints and sinners: tales of saintly miracles in the Middle Ages. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The cast of Downton Abbey in front of Highclere Castle

Downstairs in Downton: a guide to the life of an Edwardian servant. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A student party, c1824: Oxford undergraduates drinking together. drinking escapade.

The Georgian guide to university life. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Max Hastings by Fran Monks

Max Hastings on the Dambusters. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Highclere Castle

The secrets of Downton Abbey’s Highclere Castle. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The historical differences between Scottish and English Law, and what it means for Brexit. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A dinner scene from Downton Abbey, with large candlesticks on the table

Could you survive an Edwardian dinner party?

The daughter and great-niece of Henry VIII respectively, Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots didn't feel strong family ties when it came to their relationship. (Photo by Getty Images)

Queens at war: Elizabeth I vs Mary, Queen of Scots. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Henri III: Elizabeth I’s unlikely ally. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

ExploreA masterpiece of Gothic grandeur: the Church of St Mary, Warwick. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A 16th-century portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Mary, Queen of Scots: the real history behind the film

Robin Hood statue outside Nottingham Castle (Photo by Getty)

The many faces of Robin Hood. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.