Painting of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castille

Kings and queens

A digital collage mixes close‑up sections of a painted face with modern geometric shapes in yellow, blue, gray, white, and rust‑red, intersected by black lines. A necklace with a gold letter “B” and pearl drops appears among the fragments.

What did Anne Boleyn REALLY look like? Our new research could change everything. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A detailed Persian miniature painting showing a central figure seated on a raised platform beneath a decorated canopy, surrounded by a halo of flames. Attendants and courtiers in colourful robes and turbans sit or stand around them, with trays of food, vessels, and fans arranged in the scene. Stylized hills, flowers, and animals fill the background, all rendered in intricate patterns and bright colours.

12 modern trends with surprisingly ancient roots. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration showing a royal purple robe being lifted from the ground, with some dust being swept under it with a dustpan and brush

The prince and the brothel: 6 scandals that rocked the British monarchy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 1The royal family | Alice Loxton on the world of the Georgians. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A large illustration of Henry VIII with several images imprinted on him

Porpoise for breakfast and late night sex visits: Henry VIII's life in a day. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Habsburg royals displaying the distinctive jaw that became a hallmark of their intermarrying to stay in power. (Images by Getty)

What was the Habsburg jaw?

Star witness: how the Royal Observatory transformed our understanding of astronomy and time. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting of a ship with several white sails and flags on it. In front of the ship, there are large crowds of people in small boats

Not 1066 again! Should we ditch our obsession with dates?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of a haunted house. The background is black and purple, and the house is split into orange, green, black and white boxes. In each box, there are Halloween themed things such as skulls, ghosts, and eyes looking through keyholes

From tragic Tudor queens to restless Roman soldiers: Britain's 8 most haunted houses. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 2BORN to be king!? Dan Jones and Helen Castor anatomise Henry IV. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Frogmore Cottage and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Your history guide to Frogmore Cottage: who has lived there before?

A painting showing a man dressed in armour, with a blue and red flag over him, riding a white horse amongst a busy battlefield

5 things you (probably) didn't know about the Tudors. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A collaged picture shows a marble statue of Elizabeth I wearing a large crown on the left, and a portrait of King James I, dressed in a red and white robe and crown on the right

The lie of succession: did James I steal Elizabeth I's crown?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration showing a king dressed in green and orange, sitting on a blue throne made out of books. He is reading from a long scroll

Love learning like Æthelstan. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry shows a group of men sitting at a high

Why you should avoid hair-pulling, and cannibalism, at royal banquets. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of a king dressed in a green and orange robe. He is wearing a crown and holding a sceptre

King Æthelstan: England's colossus. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A drawing of a king holding a crown on his head, against a black and white image of a church

Far away from England, the mystery of Harold Godwinson's lost crown might have just been solved

What if Harold died at Stamford Bridge, not Hastings?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A man in a grey T shirt and blue jeans sits with his arms crossed, facing the camera. He has dark curly hair and wears glasses

Jonathan Healey: “A connection was made between the rarefied world of the royal court and the politics of the street”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Juliet Stevenson as Emma of Normandy in BBC drama King and Conqueror (Photo via BBC)

Emma of Normandy: not just a two-time queen consort of England

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as William the Conqueror in BBC Norman Conquest drama King and Conqueror

How historically accurate is King and Conqueror? Here’s the real history that should have happened

This posthumous portrait of William I, known as the Conqueror, was painted c.1590–1610 and is held by the National Portrait Gallery, London. Though created centuries after his death, it reflects early modern interest in the legacy of England’s first Norman monarch. (Photo by Getty Images)

Meet the real William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy who reshaped England

Illustrations of Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror

How well did Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror know each other prior to the battle of Hastings?

A collage of four images, depicting four different kings against a blue background

1066: who was the rightful king?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A woman dressed in a ruffled dress and spotted robe holds a young child in a white, lacy dress and cap

Maria of Modena: The queen who started a revolution. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

To the left, there is a black and white image of Queen Victoria. She is dressed in dark clothing and has her hair partially pulled back by a black fastening. Facing her, on the right is an image of John Brown, a bearded man wearing military uniform and a hat. Over them, there is a pink treatment with a rip in it

How I uncovered Victoria's secret love: Historian Fern Riddell explains all. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

John Brown, here with Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria and John BrownThe controversial relationship between sovereign and servant

Two green hearts are sideways, facing each other. In each there is an image: one has a painting of Elizabeth I and the other has a painting of the Duke of Anjou

The Virgin Queen? Elizabeth I's forbidden love. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Reshaping narratives, repatriation and Richard III : 25 lessons we've learnt from history in the last 25 years. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Two men dressed in Tudor clothes stand next to one another against a green curtain backdrop. Between them are several items, including a globe, a hymnbook and a lute

Tudors in turmoil: deciphering Hans Holbein’s masterwork The Ambassadors. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.