Early comic panel illustration

England

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

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

Catherine Howard: The death of innocence

The ruins of Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire. Henry’s motives when dismantling such monasteries “were much more complex than pure revenge or pure avarice alone”, says Adam Morton. (Photo by Getty Images)

History explorer6 places to explore the dissolution of the monasteries. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A giant leap for mankind: William Harvey reveals the circulation of the blood

Aerial view on Westminster Abbey at night. (Photo by Pawel Libera/LightRocket via Getty Images)

7 of England’s best medieval buildings

The Grand Bridge at Blenheim. (Getty Images)

History explorerBlenheim Palace and Capability Brown. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

(Photo By DEA/G DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images)

The Tudor sex guide

An illustration of Edmund Spenser’s poetic work ‘The Shepheardes Calender’. (Photo by Culture Club/Contributor/Getty Images)

The dark side of Elizabethan England

Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh wave from the famous balcony at Buckingham Palace after the Queen's coronation on 2 June 1953. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

7 memorable moments in the history of Buckingham Palace

Sex, scandals and betrayals: Charles II and his court

Photo of a couple holding up a fan

Q&AWhat signals were used in fan language?

Q&AWho executed King Charles I?

Francis Drake

Life of the Week: Sir Francis Drake

A vintage photograph showing an unknown man standing behind a stall selling lemonade, root beer and ice cream – among other things.

Q&AWho invented lemonade?

Portrait of Oliver Cromwell. This is one of several replicas of a portrait by Sir Peter Lely. Cromwell is supposed to have said: “I desire you would use all your skill to paint your picture truly like me… but remark all these roughness, pimples, warts and everything as you see me. Otherwise, I will never pay a farthing for it.”

Why do we say 'warts and all'?

Patricia Simmons recording the speaking clock.

Q&AWho voiced the original speaking clock?

Portrait of King Henry VIII

History heroNathaniel Parker chooses Henry VIII (1491-1547). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

7 Victorian recipes. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Calendars of the twelve months (Photo by Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

Medieval immigrants: moving to England in the Middle Ages

Winston Churchill with a bulldog mascot as he leaves the Wanstead Conservative Club in his Woodford, Essex constituency on general election day, 23 February 1950. (Photo by Central Press/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Second World War

Q&AWhat is the significance of the British Bulldog?

A 'full English' breakfast

Q&AWhy is a fry-up breakfast called a ‘full English’?

Henry VII is crowned near Bosworth

Q&AWhat Happened After The Battle of Bosworth?

The daily hustle and bustle in the busy fishing port of Newlyn in Penzance, Cornwall, c1870. (Photo by Gibson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Top 10 historical Cornish words

Dover Castle, Kent. (Photo by Olaf Protze/LightRocket via Getty Images)

England's 8 most amazing castles

Photo of ancient public toilets

General ancient history

Q&AHow old is the toilet seat?

Anne Boleyn, who was executed by beheading on 19 May 1536 after being found guilty of high treason, was said to have had "much joy and pleasure in death". (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Did Anne Boleyn crave the crown?

An illustration depicting King John signing Magna Carta in 1215. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

6 Magna Carta myths explained

Photo of pipe and tobacco

Q&ADid people smoke anything before tobacco was discovered?

In picturesStonehenge tourism through history