Illustration of a couple

Sex and love

Chastity belt decorated with a flower design and a heart pierced with arrows. (SSPL/Getty Images)

13 weird historical facts

Portrait of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. (Photo by Ken Welsh/Design Pics/Corbis via Getty Images)

Princely pleasures at Kenilworth: Robert Dudley's three-week marriage proposal to Elizabeth I. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A group of men wearing togas assault Julius Caesar in this painting depicting his assassination.

Violence, rebellion and sexual exploitation: the darker side of Ancient Rome

3 of the most famous royal weddings in history

A portrait of actress Nell Gwynn, longtime mistress to King Charles II.

From Nell to Meghan: 10 romances between actors and royals

A Georgian painting depicting children leaving for school

The Georgian guide to perfect parenting

The future Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Buckingham Palace following their wedding, 20 November 1947. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Royal wedding traditions through history: etiquette, menus and the dress code

Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV

When royals marry ‘commoners’: a brief history

Elizabeth’s love rival. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Nefertiti

Has the world been blinded by Nefertiti’s beauty?

Winston Graham's Poldark novels remind us of aspects of the past that might otherwise remain in the shadows, says Hannah Greig. (Image credit: Mammoth screen/BBC)

The real history behind 'Poldark' series three: episode nine

Austen’s influences: Lucy Worsley on the author’s life and work. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Jane Austen and Tudor London. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Anonymous engraving, master of the garden of love, 15th century, France, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale. (Photo by: Photo12/UIG via Getty Images)

7 ways to say “I love you” in medieval Europe

The Duke of Wellington and his ‘Dearest Georgy’

(Photo by Chronicle/Alamy Stock Photo)

Who were 'Stella' and 'Fanny'?

Love, sex and marriage in ancient Egypt

A day in the life of Jane Austen

General History

Q&AWhy are kissing gates so called and what is their significance as entrances to graveyards?

Adrian Turner as Poldark. (Photo by BBC Pictures)

Poldark’s Cornwall: the history behind the hit series

History’s most fascinating muses

Dan Jones and Suzannah Lipscomb discuss Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton star in the 1967 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew'. One of the playwright's most notorious couples, Katherine and Petruchio are far from a harmonious love match. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

Shakespeare’s 7 most notorious couples

Elizabeth I of England

Personal politics in Elizabeth I's court

A portrait of Catherine Howard. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Catherine Howard: The death of innocence

(Photo By DEA/G DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images)

The Tudor sex guide

An illustration of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Not such a prude after all: the secrets of Henry VIII’s love life

Sex, scandals and betrayals: Charles II and his court

Photo of a couple holding up a fan

Q&AWhat signals were used in fan language?

In pictures: Victorian life