Alternate history

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A portrait of a young Queen Victoria from around the time of the first assassination attempt in 1840

What if… Queen Victoria had been assassinated? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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CWAXKJ The Battle of Lepanto, the fleet of the Holy League destroys the Turkish fleet near Greece, October 7, 1571

What if... The Ottomans had won at Lepanto in 1571? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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King George III (r1760–1820), seen here in his coronation robes, was mentally unfit to rule during the final decade of his life. (Image by Getty Images)

What if… George III hadn't 'lost' the colonies? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The USS West Virginia burns at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941

What if… Japan hadn't attacked Pearl Harbor . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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A French manuscript from c1100 shows Viking warriors sailing to Brittany. The Viking Age touched all areas of life and can still be felt today

What if... The Vikings had never left their homelands? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Illustration of the French colonial army departing to fight under Colonel Marchand

What if... Britain and France went to war during the 1898 Fashoda Incident? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Mary, Queen of Scots during her trial at Fotheringhay Castle – where she was also executed for her alleged role in the Babington Plot (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

What if... The Babington Plot to assassinate Elizabeth I had succeeded? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Antony and Cleopatra meet for the first time

What if... Antony and Cleopatra had won the battle of Actium? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066. Had Harold survived it, William might have found his position untenable because of straightforward logistics, says historian Marc Morris

What if... William the Conquerer had lost at Hastings? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Spy plane photos revealed that missile bases were being built on Cuba, prompting the crisis. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

What if... The Cuban Missile Crisis escalated? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The assassination of Julius Caesar

What if… Julius Caesar had not been assassinated? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Richard III

What if… Richard III had won at Bosworth? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The arrest of Guy Fawkes. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Alternate history: what if… the gunpowder plot had succeeded? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Napoleon watches on as the fighting at Waterloo unfolds in this 1843 painting

What if… Napoleon had won the Battle of Waterloo . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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A 19th-century painting of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln

What if… Abraham Lincoln hadn't been assassinated? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.