Early comic panel illustration

England

Portraits of Anne Boleyn and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey

Anne Boleyn and Cardinal Wolsey’s deadly grudge match. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

St Hadrian of Canterbury

15 minutes of fameMichael Wood chooses St Hadrian. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Richard, Duke of York challenges Edmund Beaufort, Suke of Somerset, to pick a side in the Wars of the Roses in Henry Payne's 1910 painting 'Choosing The Red and White Roses in the Temple Garden'

QuizHow much do you know about the Wars of the Roses?

St Hadrian of CanterburyMedieval African theologian. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Countryside campaigners: four women who fought for our green spaces. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Troops clear damage after the Lynmouth flood disaster of 1952

Britain’s flood disasters: a brief history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Reverend Spencer Parsons, head of the Chicago branch of the Clergy Consultation Service (CCS), an interfaith group dedicated to helping women obtain abortions before 'Roe v Wade'

The American clergy who helped women get abortions before Roe v Wade. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Holbein's portrait of Edward VI

Edward VIWhy the forgotten Tudor king had the makings of a monster

Saint Wilfrid

15 minutes of fameMarc Morris chooses Saint Wilfrid

Oscar Wilde with Lord Alfred Douglas in 1893

From Oscar Wilde to David Irving: 9 landmark libel & defamation cases through history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration depicting the Great Fire of London.

Your guide to the Great Fire of London, plus 10 surprising facts

A composite image of Elizabeth I, Mary I and Elizabeth of York

How Elizabeth of York paved the way for her granddaughters to rule

Dakota Johnson stars as Anne Elliot in Netflix's 2022 adaptation of Persuasion, the final completed novel by Jane Austen

Persuasion“The essence and spirit of Austen’s work are fundamentally changed”

The origins of the Conservative Party can be traced to the ‘Tory’ group in parliament which emerged in the last quarter of the 17th century and, led by Lord Bolingbroke (pictured) and Robert Harley, held power during the final years of Queen Anne’s reign. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Why are they called Tories?A brief history of the Conservative Party. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of King Henry VIII

Henry VIIIThe life and rule of the Tudor king, plus 5 surprising facts

Royal rivals? Medieval England and France’s tempestuous relationship. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A Maria Spilsbury painting of a group sat at a drawing room table

Regency romance and a real-life Anne Elliot. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

On the streets of 19th-century London. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A man walking past a pile of uncollected rubbish during the Winter of Discontent, 22 September 1978

Q&AWhat was the Winter of Discontent?

An overturned vehicle on tramlines as a blockage to traffic during the General Strike of 1926

A brief history of strike action. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tudors play real tennis, a precursor to the modern game of tennis

Q&AWhat was Real Tennis?

An angry crowd of around 400 miners blockade National Coal Board boss Ian McGregor inside a colliery office at Ellinton Colliery, 22 February 1984

Your guide to the miners’ strike of 1984–85

Closeup of Henry VIII's face

The slow death of Henry VIII

Princess Elizabeth and Thomas Seymour (Photos by Getty and Alamy)

Did Thomas Seymour sexually abuse the teenage Princess Elizabeth?

Elizabeth Gaskell: a voice of the Victorians. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

1842 self-portrait of Sarah Biffin

The armless artist who wowed Queen Victoria. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Queen Elizabeth II, in March 2022 - the year of her platinum jubilee (Photo by Getty Images)

QuizQueen Elizabeth II and her reign

Marriage à-la-mode: 2. The Tête à Tête.

What great paintings sayMarriage à-la-mode: 2. The Tête à Tête by William Hogarth, c1743–45. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The effigy of King John on his tomb in Worcester Cathedral

Your guide to King John, the monarch who issued Magna Carta

A lodger disputes his bill with his landlady in this 1812 print by Thomas Rowlandson

What was it like being a renter in Georgian London?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.