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A statue of Robert the Bruce Statue at Stirling Castle, Scotland. (Dreamstime)

The battle of Bannockburn: Robert Bruce’s fight for freedom

Second World War

Operation Barbarossa: why Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union was his greatest mistake

Q&A Who was the first person to call themselves a ‘drag queen’?

Kate Morgan chronicles the legal history of murder, discussing the cases that shaped UK murder laws. (Image by Getty Images)

Murder: a legal history

Brothers in arms Louis IX on his way to the Seventh Crusade, 1248. The French king kept his three brothers onside – preventing any potential family infighting – by providing them with huge lordships. (Photo by Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

How to run a medieval dynasty: survival secrets of ruling royal families

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In the news

Today’s events in historical context…

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

Actor Errol Flynn as Robin Hood in the film 'The Adventures of Robin Hood', 1938. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

What’s the most accurate Robin Hood film?

Gareth Williams explores previous efforts to combat lethal diseases, from smallpox to polio. (Image by Getty Images)

The race for vaccines: lessons from history

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Arrives Japan

Q&A Have the Olympic Games ever been cancelled?

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Today's highlights

A decorative portrait of Elizabeth Woodville

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

Richard I on a Chertsey tile

Does Richard I deserve his reputation as a martial genius?

A 20th-century fresco 'Plucking the Red and White Roses in the Old Temple Gardens' by Henry Payne. It depicts a scene by Shakespeare, showing Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset being challenged by Richard, 3rd Duke of York to choose between the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster. (Photo by Artefact / Alamy Stock Photo)

7 things you (probably) didn’t know about the houses of Lancaster and York

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

Reassessing Edward I: battle-hungry aggressor or dutiful conqueror?

Norman women: the power behind the thrones

More medieval kings & queens

Historical Q&As

How did Spanish Flu get its name? When did our ancestors start using toilet paper? Why did the famous Crystal Palace burn down? And where was the WW1 Armistice signed? Here are the top questions about history, answered by historians and experts…

A photograph of President John Quincy Adams

Q&A What’s the oldest photo of a US president?

A scene from Perceval, one of the Arthurian romances attributed to Chretien De Troyes

Who was Chrétien de Troyes, and why are his Arthurian romances important?

Cat got your tongue? It certainly seems to be the case with this surprised tabby

Why do we say ‘cat got your tongue’?

A red herring on a plate

Q&A Why do we say ‘red herring’?

A cartoon of Napoleon and King George III.

Q&A How tall was Napoleon Bonaparte?

Members of the royal family: Prince Louis; Prince George; Prince William, Duke of Cambridge; Princess Charlotte; Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Prince Charles, Prince of Wales; Princess Anne, Princess Royal; and Queen Elizabeth II during the Queen's annual birthday parade on 8 June 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Q&A How did the royals choose 'Windsor'?

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HistoryExtra Podcast

The latest episodes from the History Extra podcast

Larry Loftis details the life and work of Aline Griffith, a model-turned-spy who rose to the upper echelons of society in WW2 Spain. (Image by Getty Images)

Second World War

Socialite, countess, WW2 spy: Aline Griffith

Adrian Wooldridge explores meritocracy’s role in forging the modern world, and weighs up its challenges and advantages. (Image by Getty Images)

The merits of meritocracy

Ritchie Robertson responds to listener questions on the intellectual and philosophical movement that swept Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. (Image by Getty Images)

The Enlightenment: everything you wanted to know

King Arthur and a hand holding the sword Excalibur.

The legends of King Arthur: everything you wanted to know

Pectoral ornament in the form of a double headed serpent, Aztec/ Mixtec, c 1400/1521 (Photo by Getty Images)

The Aztecs: everything you wanted to know

From Roman emperors and medieval saints to enslaved people, Olivette Otele charts the long history of Africans in Europe

African Europeans

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Trending in the US

Elizabeth I, shown in a portrait commemorating victory over the Armada

7 things you (probably) didn’t know about Elizabeth I

A Roman soldier stands on guard during a re-enaction at Birdoswald Roman fort in Carlisle

Quiz How much do you know about the remains of Roman Britain?

Anne Boleyn, who was executed by beheading on 19 May 1536 after being found guilty of high treason, was said to have had

The final days of Anne Boleyn: why did she die?

Photo of JFK in the motorcade

Who killed JFK? The case that can never be closed

Picture galleries

Explore our historical galleries covering a wide range of historical periods and topics…

'The Last Supper' by Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings: a guide to 8 famous works

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In pictures: 150 years of the British Red Cross

Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in season 4 of 'The Crown'. (Photo by Netflix)

The Crown S4 news: Netflix releases first images of Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher

This photo dated 1948 shows the devastated city of Hiroshima some three years after the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city on 6 August 1945, at the end of World War 2. Around 140,000 people, or more than half of Hiroshima's population at the time, died in the first atomic bombing – with another 70,000 people perishing in the bomb dropped over Nagasaki 9 August 1945. (Photo credit should read AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

Second World War

In pictures: the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Latest articles

Fred Perry in action in the Wimbledon final in 1936. (Photo by Getty Images)

Fred Perry: the icon and the outcast

HMT Empire Windrush arrives at Tilbury Docks

Bound for Britain: your guide to the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush

Coronation of King Edward III. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

7 medieval kings of England you should know about

Margaret of Anjou married Henry VI of England in 1445

Margaret of Anjou: a brief guide to the ‘She-Wolf of France’

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History Quizzes

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How much do you know about the Vikings? Test your knowledge with our quiz. This mid-19th century painting shows Viking ships on the River Thames. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

History quiz: How much do you know about the Vikings?

People praying for relief from the bubonic plague, circa 1350. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Medieval quiz

A portrait of William Barnes. The accomplished linguist wanted to adopt a form of English purged of foreign imports

Quiz Would you be able to speak in National English?

The effects of the disease known as the Black Death

History quiz: how much do you know about the Black Death?

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Portrait of King Henry VIII, Jane Seymour and Prince Edward. (Photo by Getty Images)

Tudor

Illustrated Medieval scene from the Romance of Lancelot

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20th Century

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Painting of Henry VIII

Henry VIII

Portrait of Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria

Winston Churchill gives his famous v-sign as he opens the new headquarters of 615 (County of Surrey) Squadron of the RAAF (Royal Auxiliary Air Force) at Croydon, 1948. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Winston Churchill

Golden funerary mask of Tutankhamun, inlaid with lapis lazuli, obsidian and turquoise. (Photo By DEA / G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images)

Tutankhamun

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Dockers unloading wine barrels

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

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The charge of the light, battle illustration

Military history

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