Painting of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castille

Kings and queens

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

The astonishing Æthelstan.

A memorial tomb to King Æthelstan, in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire. (Photo by Geography Photos/UIG via Getty Images)

If King Alfred was great, was Æthelstan even greater?.

A copy of the Declaration of Arbroath is held by the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh – the actual letter sent to Pope John XXII is lost (Photo by M.Brodie / Alamy Stock Photo)

The Declaration of Arbroath: your guide to Scotland's historic document

Women's history podcast episodes

King Alfonso XIII of Spain, Charles I of England, Puyi of China and Lydia Liliuokalani of Hawaii

The kingdom is deadWhat causes monarchies to fail?.

Philip Augustus of France (left) and Richard I of England

Medieval masculinityWhat Richard I can tell us about male friendship in the Middle Ages.

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.

The death of Queen Victoria.

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.

A painting of Marie Antoinette in 1775

How Marie Antoinette waged a battle for survival.

Image shows King Stephen, the last Norman King of England

How to be a medieval king6 pieces of advice for would-be rulers.

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.

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.

Writing the history of the modern monarchy.

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”.

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.