Photo of Mabel Capper and Patricia Woodlock advertising a meeting, Manchester, Lancashire, July 1908

Women's history

From left to right: Queen Isabella of Castile; French regent Anne de Beaujeu; and Catherine of Aragon. (Photos by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/DeAgostini/Imagno/Getty Images)

Game of Queens: when women ruled Renaissance Europe

The trials of Ethel Rosenberg. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Eleanor of Woodstock, eldest daughter of Edward II, whom you can read more about in the April 2019 issue of BBC History Magazine. Medieval princesses had more agency than we might think says historian Kelcey Wilson-Lee. (Image by Alamy)

7 things you didn’t know a medieval princess could do

Eleanor of Aquitaine depicted in a 12th-century prayer book

The real Eleanor of Aquitaine: 5 myths about the medieval queen

Socialite, countess, WW2 spy: Aline Griffith. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How to be a medieval queen: the realities of being a royal woman in the Middle Ages

Matilda (circa 1031-1083) was Queen Consort of William the Conqueror. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)

Norman women: the power behind the thrones. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Elizabeth Woodville with her husband, Edward IV. According to one medieval document, their marriage only came about “by Sorcerie and Wichecrafte, committed by the said Elizabeth, and her Moder Jaquett Duchess of Bedford”. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Medieval royal witches: from Elizabeth Woodville to Queen Joan of Navarre

Women secret agents in Nazi-occupied France. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Colour portrait of Jane Austen (1775–1817) drawn by her sister Cassandra. Dated 1810. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Jane Austen: a guide to her life, books and death – plus 8 fascinating facts

"Make love not midnight snacks": a social history of slimming clubs. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Women reporters of WW2. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Wolfson History Prize 2021 special. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Jane Seymour, queen of England from 1536 to 1537 as the third wife of Henry VIII. Jane is remembered for being the only wife to provide Henry with a son and male heir (the future Edward VI). Jane died on 24 October 1537, most likely from puerperal, or childbed, fever. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

Jane Seymour: the queen Henry VIII loved most?

Fern RiddellSex: Lessons from History. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Jodie Turner-Smith as Anne Boleyn. (Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh courtesy of Channel 5)

Jodie Turner-Smith as Anne Boleyn: colour-blind casting and historical accuracy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustration of Brunhilda of Austrasia

The real Brunhild? The Visigothic princess behind the Norse saga

An aerial view of Tahiti

Jeanne Baret: the first known woman to circumnavigate the globe. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Melisende of Jerusalem

Melisende of Jerusalem: the queen of a crusader kingdom

Madness, property and power: the strange case of Mary Davies. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A bust of Queen Nefertiti of Ancient Egypt. (Photo by Oliver Lang/AFP/Getty Images)

Your guide to Egypt’s sun queen Nefertiti

The changing shape of slimming clubs. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Women fighters of the Jewish resistance with Judy Batalion

Women fighters of the Jewish resistance. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Why are we fascinated by ‘evil women’?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Bloodied feet, outrageous breasts and the sinister power of a hair cut: a history of the body. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Roland Philipps tells the story of Mathilde Carré

Traitor or triple agent? The WW2 spy Mathilde Carré. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

17th century engraving showing the execution by hanging of four witches. (Photo by Fototeca Gilardi/Getty Images)

QuizWould you have been accused of witchcraft?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The bigamy trial that scandalised Georgian England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Women prisoners in 19th-century Ireland. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762) by Joseph Highmore (Photo by Alamy)

The feminist who waged war on smallpox. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.