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Victoria, Albert and their children admire the royal Christmas tree

Explore The history of Christmas

Henry Fitzroy

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

A portrait of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler

Second World War

Why did WW2 happen?

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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

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

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Afua Hirsch in Kenya. (Photo by Clear Story/BBC)

Afua Hirsch: “The prejudice still surrounding Africa is absolutely rooted in a racist past” . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference. (Photo by Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Donald Trump: a president without precedent?

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A late 18th-century painting of British and French sailors going head-to-head at war

The uncommon lives of common sailors . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Isabella of France welcomed by her brother Charles IV to Paris. (Photo by Getty Images)

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

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Dan Jones. (Photograph by Steve Sayers)

Exclusive podcast Dan Jones on the human stories of the crusades . 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