People watching the Royal Wedding

United Kingdom

View towards Steel Rigg from Hadrian's Wall in Northumbria. (Photo by VisitBritain/Rod Edwards via Getty Images)

History explorer: Early Roman Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A second petition of 800,000 signatures, protesting against the abolition of the basic petrol ration, being presented to the House of Commons, 10 December 1947. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

E-petitions: in the name of the people?

A scene from the Chronique de St Denis depicting the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII of France, 1137. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

An A to Z of the Plantagenets. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Cenotaph, London

What are the origins of saluting?

Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire

North West Museum of Road Transport, St Helens

BBC History Magazine

If I ran the country, I’d throw Halloween on the bonfire

Matilda: William the Conqueror’s queen. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

British microbiologist and discoverer of penicillin, Alexander Fleming. (Photo by Ipsumpix/Corbis via Getty Images)

A big day in history: Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryA new history of England and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Queen Matilda. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Anti-capitalist graffiti referencing the Nike slogan ‘Just Do It’. Mayday riots, London, 2001. (Photo by PYMCA/UIG via Getty Images)

Opinion: should historians comment on current affairs?

Kathleen Kenyon challenged biblical accounts with her pioneering work at the ancient city of Jericho. (Photo by Bettmann/contributor via Getty Images)

My history hero: Kathleen Kenyon (1906–78). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Douglas Haig (right) watches the stamping of poppies by ex-servicemen, during a visit to the British Legion poppy factory in Richmond, 22 October 1926. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

The LibraryDouglas Haig: a postwar revolutionary?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth I’s ‘spymaster’. (Photo by Photo 12/UIG via Getty Images)

Sir Francis Walsingham: spy-master extraordinaire and Elizabeth I’s security chief. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

View across the river Clyde to Dumbarton Rock and the medieval Dumbarton Castle. (Photo by Martin W Holt via Getty Images)

History explorer: Alfred and the Vikings. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Roche Abbey, Yorkshire

BBC History Magazine

The BBC Story

Anne of Cleves House, East Sussex

The front page of the first edition of The Sun newspaper. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

A big day in history: The Sun first appeared on shelves in newsagents. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Caerphilly Castle, Glamorgan

BBC History Magazine

The BBC Story

Bernard Cornwell on his novels. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The East India Company and Nelson. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The spies of Queen Elizabeth I. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Being a British Missionary and troubles in Ireland. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The end of slavery and headaches in history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Bluestones, like these in the Preseli hills, were used to build Stonehenge. (Photo by Paula Connelly via Getty Images)

Britain’s buried secrets. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A London Missionary Society (LMS) mission in Papua New Guinea, c1920s. (Photo by Chronicle/Alamy Stock Photo)

Married to a missionary. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.