Illustration of a couple

Sex and love

Charles Dance as Lord Mountbatten in season 4 of 'The Crown'

The Crown S4 E1 real history: when Charles met Diana, and the death of Lord Mountbatten

Women in black: the surprising history of widows. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Katherine Willoughby in an 18th-century engraving after a Hans Holbein the Younger portrait. In 1546 the prospect of her marrying England's ageing King Henry VIII was causing tongues to wag in diplomatic circles. (Photo by Print Collector/Getty Images)

A seventh wife for Henry VIII? The story of Katherine Willoughby

Henry VIII’s mistresses: who else did the Tudor king sleep with?

The Regency era: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Diana and Charles being driven to Buckingham Palace after their wedding

Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s wedding: everything you need to know

Your guide to Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn

Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII. National Portrait Gallery, London. (Photo by PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)

The lost heirs of Henry VIII: Alison Weir on Katherine of Aragon’s failed pregnancies

Portrait of Catherine of Aragon

Catherine of Aragon: Spain’s Virgin queen?

The Spanish Princess Part II. (Image by Starz)

The real history behind The Spanish Princess

Portrait of Catherine of Aragon

Your guide to Catherine of Aragon: Henry VIII’s first wife and mother of Mary I

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor playing Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII in the 1963 film, Cleopatra. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

7 of the most memorable couples in history

c1954: A photo-fiction serial telling the story of a young couple on honeymoon in the South of France. The parts are played by actors Mark Hashfield and Simone Lovell. (Photo by Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of honeymoons (and how the post-wedding holiday got its name)

The history of seduction. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Athenian red-figure cup showing a seated man with a naked boy in the inside tondo, 470 BC

What was pederasty in ancient Greece?

Top, left to right: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour. Bottom, left to right: Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Katherine Parr.

Henry VIII’s six wives: your guide to the Tudor king's queen consorts

The real Harlots: Hallie Rubenhold on Covent Garden's courtesans

Half-sisters and daughters of Henry VIII: Mary Tudor (left) and Elizabeth I, who both reigned as queen of England. (Photos by Getty Images)

Did Elizabeth I and her half-sister, Mary Tudor, have a good relationship? Historian Tracy Borman explains

Holbein's portrait of Henry VIII

QuizHenry VIII's wives

Portrait of Catherine Howard

11 facts about Catherine Howard

Left: Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their wedding day, 29 July 1981. Right: Prince William and Catherine Middleton on their wedding day, 29 April 2011. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

The 8 most famous royal weddings in British history

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, during their first visit to England after the Duke's abdication, September 1939. (Photo by Getty Images)

Edward VIII, Wallis Simpson and the Abdication crisis. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Thomas Becket murder

7 controversial saints in history

Amy Robsart and the Earl of Leicester

Amy Robsart: a Tudor tragedy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (1532–88) an English nobleman. Dated 16th century. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Robert Dudley: Queen Elizabeth I's great love

Newgrange Passage Tombs, Boyne Valley, County Meath, Ireland. (Photo by Hoberman Collection/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #9: Do early medieval Irish texts shed light on prehistoric incest?

Two lovers rest after a hunt, Codex Manesse

Saturday lecture: Medieval love and marriage. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Queen Victoria of Great Britain with her husband, Prince Albert, and their nine children. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)

Queen Victoria’s children

Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. When Edward became king in January 1936, he was the darling of the nation. Yet when he abdicated in December 1936, few believed he was making the wrong decision. (Photo by Getty Images)

Love before duty: the story of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson

Charles II and his parties

Was Charles II too randy to rule?