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A despatch rider during WW1, as featured in new Sam Mendes film '1917'

First World War

The real trench runners of WW1

American socialite Wallis Simpson

The vilification of Wallis Simpson: how Edward VIII’s mistress was savaged by society

Three monarchs who stepped down through history: Kaiser Wilhem II; Anne of Cleves; and James VII and II. (Images by Getty)

Retiring royals: 9 rulers and royals who stepped down through history

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Hungarian Jews arrive at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1944

The liberation of Auschwitz, 75 years on: what happened and how do we remember the Holocaust? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ayatollah Khomeini

General ancient history

A brief history of Iran

Peronne, March 1917

Operation Alberich: the story of Germany’s retreat in 1917

David Bowie and Twiggy

David Bowie’s life in pictures

Edvard Munch's painting 'Love and Pain'

The Vampyre stirs: 200 years of vampire entertainment

French prime minister Georges Clemenceau (left), US president Woodrow Wilson (centre) and British PM David Lloyd George at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919. The treaty's provisions have been blamed for causing the Second World War. (Image by Topfoto)

First World War

Did the Versailles peace treaty trigger another world war?

Portrait of Prince Albert

What killed Prince Albert?

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B-17 bombers make their way to England to aid the British in WW2, April 1942. (Photo by Getty Images)

From Allies to enemies . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

American actresses Frances Dee, Jean Parker, Katharine Hepburn, and Joan Bennett playing the March girls in George Cukor's film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's 'Little Women', 1933. (Photo by RKO Pictures/Courtesy of Getty Images)

“Fresh and full of soul”: the history of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women

Crowds protest in Tehran

Opinion: is Iran a nation at war with itself?

Prohibition protesters parade in a car emblazoned with signs and flags calling for the repeal of the 18th Amendment, which outlawed the production and consumption of alcohol in the United States. (Archive Photos/Getty Images)

“A great social experiment”: a brief guide to prohibition

An illustration of Jeffrey Hudson and Queen Henrietta Maria

The amazing life of Jeffrey Hudson, the queen’s dwarf