Painting of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castille

Kings and queens

A depiction of Empress Wu Zetian

Empress Wu ZetianThe only woman to rule China

King Edward VII in his coronation robes.

Edward VIIA guide to the king who ruled over the Edwardian age

Mavia of Tanukh, illustration by Lynn Hatzius

Mavia Of TanukhWarrior queen of Arabia. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The death of Queen Victoria. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An effigy of Henry III

The Plantagenet royal dynasty: England's ultimate family drama

Three of the children of Henry VII: Prince Henry; Arthur Prince of Wales and Princess Margaret

Royal rivalries10 of the most famous sibling relationships. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting of Marie Antoinette in 1775

How Marie Antoinette waged a battle for survival. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Image shows King Stephen, the last Norman King of England

How to be a medieval king6 pieces of advice for would-be rulers. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The life and death of Marie Antoinette: everything you need to know about the last queen of France

Tracy Borman and Rhiannon Davies

VideoTracy Borman on Elizabeth I. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The real Wenceslas is that he was not actually a king, but Duke of Bohemia.

Q&AWho was Good King Wenceslas, and was he actually good?

Stained glass in Exeter Cathedral depicting King Æthelstan. (Dreamstime)

VideoMichael Wood on the astonishing Æthelstan. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Writing the history of the modern monarchy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Princess Diana's 1995 interview with Martin Bashir.

The Crown S5 E8 real history: Diana’s Panorama interview causes fireworks

Queen Elizabeth II sends her first Tweet during a visit to the 'Information Age' Exhibition at the Science Museum on October 24, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

How did the world change during Queen Elizabeth II's reign?

King Henry V (left) in a late-16th- or early 17th-century portrait by an unknown artist; and his son Henry VI (right) in a c1500s portrait (Photos by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Why Henry VI’s reign was such a disaster

Statue of Ramesses II, at Luxor Temple. He ruled Egypt for 66 years, and left more statues than any other pharaoh (Photo by Michelle McMahon / Getty Images)

5 of the most powerful pharaohs to rule ancient Egypt

The queen – dressed in dark clothing – stands up from a table to deliver a speech

Annus HorribilisWhat happened in the Queen’s horrible year?

A copy of a wall painting shows Sety I (r1294-1279 BC) opening the door for Osiris, lord of the dead

Egyptian pharaohs: your essential guide to Egypt’s ancient rulers

Dominic West as Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki as Diana in season 5 of The Crown

Opinion“If scholars can’t write accurate histories of the Queen’s reign, drama is what we’ll continue to rely on”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ramesses I

TimelineThe age of the pharaohs

Tutankhamun’s golden funeral mask

Your guide to Tutankhamun, plus 8 fascinating facts

Harry Lloyd (Richard III) and Sally Hawkins (Philippa Langley) in The Lost King

The Lost KingThe difficult art of turning a true story into a movie

Robert Harris on the manhunt for Charles I’s killers. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Elisabeth von Wittelsbach, c1860, (left) and actor Devrim Lingnau as Elisabeth in Netflix drama The Empress.

Sisi: the tragic life of the lost and lonely Empress Elisabeth of Austria

The skeleton exhumed from beneath a Leicester car park in 2012. The remains contained features matching Tudor descriptions of Richard III, and injuries to the skull and body inflicted at the battle of Bosworth in 1485

Rediscovering Richard IIIThe story of how a lost king was found. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Serpent Queen stars Samantha Morton as Catherine de' Medici

The Serpent QueenThe STARZ drama offers a caricature of the real Catherine de' Medici

(L to R) Elizabeth I, Charles II and Edward VII

How to be a successorDo’s and don’ts for heirs to the throne from history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

James VI of Scotland (later also James I of England and Ireland) and his young wife, Anna of Denmark

The honeymoon of James VI and Anna of Denmark. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Crowds line the streets to watch the funeral cortege of Queen Victoria in February 1901. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Tracy BormanA guide to royal funerals through history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.