Early comic panel illustration

England

Travelling Mass set, c1535, consisting of a silver-gilt chalice; a paten (Communion plate) and a glass bottle for wine, with a leather box in which to carry them. (Photo by Museum of London/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Henry VIII's savage Reformation

Who decided Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, should be executed?

History of Harrods: a brief guide to the Knightsbridge landmark

Irish national hero Hugh O'Neill, the 2nd Earl of Tyrone, makes a formal submission to the English following the suppression of his Irish rebellion, 1603. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The LibraryHugh O'Neill: Elizabeth I’s Irish nemesis. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Charles Darwin sports his trademark bushy beard in 1877. (Photo by Corbis Historical/Getty Images)

From Charles Darwin’s beard to George Eliot’s right hand: 4 famous Victorian bodily quirks. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A woodcut print of the medieval town of Pisa.

History quiz – shambles, soldiers and medieval towns. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Section of the Bayeux Tapestry depicting a woman and child fleeing from a burning house. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

The Anglo-Saxons’ last stand. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Photo of gauntlets

Q&AWhy do we say throw down the gauntlet?

Lady Hall launches the British India Company passenger liner SS Uganda in Clydeside docks with the traditional bottle of champagne, 1952. The first time champagne was used to launch a ship was when Queen Victoria launched HMS Royal Arthur in 1891. (Photo by George Douglas/Getty Images)

Q&AWhy do we smash champagne bottles against new ships?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A London slum family stood in a street with all their possessions following eviction, c1901. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Life in 19th-century slums: Victorian London’s homes from hell

Q&AQ&A: Why is Portugal known as Britain’s oldest ally?

Adrian Turner as Poldark. (Photo by BBC Pictures)

Poldark’s Cornwall: the history behind the hit series

The 1016 Danish Conquest that led to the battle of Hastings. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sheet music.

History quiz – songs, space stations and capital cities. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

View of the Waterloo Gallery at Apsley House, London. (Photo by English Heritage/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The LibraryHistory explorer: the Napoleonic Wars

Newcastle upon Tyne, 1877, published in the Illustrated London News. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

The LibraryEngland’s northern soul

An engraving by Wenceslaus Hollar depicting Old St Paul's on fire during the Great Fire of London, 1666. Frantic efforts to fight the flames quickly turned into an equally fevered search for a scapegoat. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

The Library1666: when London burned with rage. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Londoners read newspaper headlines about Britain's entry to the Common Market, January 1973. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

The reluctant Europeans. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The history of London’s 10 greatest live music venues. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Soviet missiles in Red Square during the May Day Parade of 1962, the year the world came closest to nuclear war. (Photo by Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images)

History explorer: the Cold War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Photo of pencils

Q&AHow old is the pencil?

Full-Length Portrait of King Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger

Q&AHow big was Henry VIII’s codpiece?

Queen Street Mill in Burnley. (Photo by Alamy)

History explorer: the power of cotton. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The most popular historical figures you've (probably) never heard of

Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire. (Photo by Getty Images)

History explorerThe Second Barons’ War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Kate Summerscale. (Photo by Fran Monks)

The wicked boy: the mystery of a Victorian child murderer. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Anne Boleyn

Did Eustace Chapuys really despise Anne Boleyn?

Edmund II - better known as Edmund Ironside - shown in a 14th-century manuscript. (Photo by Wikimedia Commons)

Edmund Ironside: Anglo-Saxon warrior king

Elizabeth I of England

Personal politics in Elizabeth I's court. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Catherine Howard. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Catherine Howard: The death of innocence. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.