People watching the Royal Wedding

United Kingdom

Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I: a queen in a king’s world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration depicting the deposition of the body of Edward the Confessor in the tomb at Westminster in 1066. (

Was the early medieval period a "golden age" for the elderly?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

William Cecil, also known as Lord Burghley, with Queen Elizabeth I. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Your guide to William Cecil, chief adviser to Queen Elizabeth I

London during the Blitz - the systematic night-time bombing of the British by the Luftwaffe in 1940 - 1941. (Photo by Getty Images)

Rationing, school closures and 'Blitz spirit': how did people cope in WW2?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Elizabeth I, shown in a portrait commemorating victory over the Armada

Elizabeth I: a guide to her life and rule, plus 7 facts you might not know

AFS firemen tackle a blitz fire amidst the rubble surrounding St Paul's Cathedral, London. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Second World War

Your guide to the Blitz, plus 9 places affected by the bombings

King Arthur and a hand holding the sword Excalibur.

The legends of King Arthur: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

It was the need for witnesses in divorce courts – ones who wouldn’t mind their names being linked to scandals, no less – that partly gave rise to female detectives. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)

Women detectives: meet the Victorian female super sleuths. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tudors history quizTest your knowledge of the dynamic dynasty

Britain goes to war. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Evening Light on Hadrian's Wall

The Romans in Britain: exploitation or innovation?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

c1954: A photo-fiction serial telling the story of a young couple on honeymoon in the South of France. The parts are played by actors Mark Hashfield and Simone Lovell. (Photo by Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of honeymoons (and how the post-wedding holiday got its name)

Ernest Bevin

Ernest Bevin: working-class warrior. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Henry Fitzroy

Henry Fitzroy: how Henry VIII’s “bastard son” rocked the Tudor court

Postcards from the past competition: the winners

WW2 surrender signed, 2 September 1945

Second World War

How and when did WW2 end?

The 1851 Great Exhibition’s west wing

The 1851 Great Exhibition: inside the Victorian spectacle

Illustration for BBC History Magazine.

How potatoes conquered the world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Mary Seacole as seen in a contemporary photo. Although she became famous for her nursing work in the Crimean War, her story subsequently became largely forgotten. (Photo by Alamy)

History heroBernardine Evaristo chooses Mary Seacole (1805–1881). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Hundred Years’ War: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Mary Toft, perpetrator of the 1726 hoax – in which she appeared to give birth to rabbits

The woman who gave birth to rabbits? How Mary Toft's hoax captured Georgian society

Floral tributes to Diana, Princess of Wales, outside Kensington Palace. (Photo by Liba Taylor/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Princess Diana's death: when grief gripped a nation. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Painting of Masons building a pillar in a church

General Early Modern

Your guide to...the Freemasons

Edward the Confessor (Anglo-Saxon king of England from 1042) on his throne, as shown in the Bayeux Tapestry. (Photo by Getty Images)

Edward the Confessor. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

King George VI and his eldest daughter, Elizabeth

The death of King George VI: what happened?

The Pilgrim fathers arrive at Plymouth, Massachusetts on board the Mayflower. (Photo by Harold M. Lambert/Kean Collection/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

"They decided that God must be leading them to North America": the Puritans journey to the Mayflower. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

As seen in this early 19th-century depiction of an initiation, Masons have long used secrecy to "create a sense of awe and specialness around their rituals". (Image by Alamy)

A history of Freemasonry: from Enlightenment ideals to satanic conspiracy stories

Exclusive podcastDominic Sandbrook on the 1980s. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Battle of Bosworth, 22 August 1485

10 things you need to know about the battle of Bosworth

Richard III. (Photo by Getty Images)

Have we completely misinterpreted Shakespeare’s Richard III?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.