People watching the Royal Wedding

United Kingdom

Effigy of Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Canterbury, Kent, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Where history happened: the cult of Thomas Becket. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BBC History Magazine

Britain Begins

Rydal Mount, Cumbria

Medieval ploughmen ploughing with oxen

The dark side of the Anglo-Saxons. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

First Textbook

Toys and games that killed in Tudor England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Historic Helmsley

BBC History Magazine

The Pinecone: The Story of Sarah Losh, Forgotten Romantic Heroine – Antiquarian, Architect and Visionary

The Victorian trade in dead bodies. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Robert Louis Stevenson, the 19th-century English poet and novelist perhaps best known for his books 'Treasure Island' and the 'Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

My history hero: Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A view of Lindisfarne Castle, where a former priory became a naval depot. (Getty Images)

Where history happened: the Tudor navy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Q&A: Where did the monks go after the dissolution of the monasteries?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Nelson mortally wounded at Trafalgar in 1805

Nelson: the unhappy admiral. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Traquair House, Peeblesshire

Suzannah Lipscomb on the importance of the Tudors. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Andrew Jackson Cottage and US Ranger Centre, County Antrim

Alfred the Great and Æthelflæd, 13th century

The Anglo-Saxon cunning woman. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BBC History Magazine

Unfinished Empire: The Global Expansion of Britain

British political cartoonist David Low. His caricatures of political figures including Hitler resulted in him being placed in the Nazi 'Black Book' – a list of prominent Britons who were to be arrested in the case of a successful invasion of Britain. (Photo by Felix Man/Picture Post/Getty Images

My history hero: Sir David Low (1891–1963). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BBC History Magazine

Commander: The Life and Exploits of Britain's Greatest Frigate Captain

Chepstow Castle', C1770S.

The LibraryWales in the Civil War: the last refuge of monarchy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BBC History Magazine

Sinners? Scroungers? Saints? Unmarried Motherhood in 20th-Century England

Nuclear bomb test. (OFF/AFP/Getty Images)

How Britain got the bomb. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Herbert 'Blondie' Hasler (left) pictured with Bill Sparks and Mary Lindell. It was "his ability to take ordinary men and give them the confidence and skills to do extraordinary things" that made him a hero, says Paddy Ashdown. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

My history hero: ‘Blondie’ Hasler (1914–87). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The scandal of female miners in 19th-century Britain

BBC History Magazine

Eric Hobsbawm obituary

Hampton Court Palace

The LibraryWhere history happened: a history of disability. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BBC History Magazine

The Road Not Taken: How Britain Narrowly Missed a Revolution

A runestone depicting two warriors fighting and the journey of the Vikings to Valhalla, the hall of slain. (DEA/G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images)

The Vikings at home. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Cowdray, West Sussex

Visit historic Carlisle