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Queen Victoria pictured c1862 during her period of mourning after the death of her husband, Albert, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Prince Albert: the death that rocked the monarchy

What did Jane Austen really look like?

The Library Ragnar Lothbrok: the immortal Viking

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A Royal Air Force fighter squadron 'scrambles' after receiving the signal to engage the enemy during the Battle of Britain. (Photo by William Vandivert/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Second World War

A brief history of the Royal Air Force

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Today’s events in historical context…

The British poster for 'Mary, Queen of Scots' (2018). Margot Robbie as Queen Elizabeth I and Saoirse Ronan as Mary Stuart. (© Focus Features / courtesy Everett Collection)

Did Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots really meet?

A portrait of Benjamin Franklin. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

The Library How to negotiate an exit

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Are we returning to an age of political extremes? (Illustration by Davide Bonazzi for BBC World Histories Magazine)

The big question Are we returning to an age of political extremes?

A general view of 10 Downing Street, the residence of the British prime minister currently in office, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The Prime Ministers we never quite had

Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I

As a new film Mary Queen of Scots, starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie, airs in the US

Mary, Queen of Scots craved the throne occupied by her cousin Elizabeth I (pictured). Theirs was a relationship defined by plots, massacres, assassinations and ultimately, the executioner's sword. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

Deadly Rivals: Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary, Queen of Scots and her ladies in waiting. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Mary, Queen of Scots: what happened to her ladies-in-waiting?

A c1610 portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, a "charming and ill-fated woman brought down by forces beyond her control". (DeAgostini/Getty Images)

The downfall of Mary, Queen of Scots

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Elizabeth I’s war with England’s Catholics

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Inside the mind of Elizabeth I

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

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Kings and queens

Ahead of our Kings and Queens Weekend in March 2019…

BBC History Magazine's Kings and Queens Weekend, March 2019

Kings and Queens Weekend 2–3 March 2019

Elizabeth I, shown in a portrait commemorating victory over the Armada. (Photo by: Photo 12/UIG via Getty Images)

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

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

Queen Victoria’s children

Illustration of Queen Matilda of Boulogne, by Eleanor Shakespeare

The Library Matilda of Boulogne: Norman England’s warrior queen

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Hans Holbein the Younger’s portrait of Henry VIII, c1537. Henry’s clash with the church was, says George Bernard, the most significant episode of the Tudor era and transformed England’s relationship with continental Europe. (Photo by Print Collector/Getty Images)

Henry VIII and the scourge of papal power

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Charles II on the run

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The Spanish Armada: Tudor spin portrayed the events of August 1588 as a glorious English victory but, argues Robert Hutchinson, bad weather and bad tactics had more to do with the Spanish fleet's failure than Elizabethan derring-do. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The Spanish Armada: England’s lucky escape

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Statue of the great philosopher Confucius in Shanghai. Taken at the Shanghai Wen Miao, also known as the Shanghai Confucian Temple. (Photo by Getty Images)

General ancient history

The legacy of Confucius

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Illustration by Sarah Young

Ælfthryth: England’s first queen

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Spanish flu

First World War

When Spanish Flu hit Britain

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The battleship USS California (centre) following the attack at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. (Bettmann/Getty Images)

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12 things you (probably) didn’t know about Pearl Harbor

Elizabeth I, shown in a portrait commemorating victory over the Armada. (Photo by: Photo 12/UIG via Getty Images)

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

This c1610 painting shows an elderly Elizabeth. The queen used "gems and pearls" to divert attention from her decaying body, says Anna Whitelock. (The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Elizabeth I: the monarch behind the mask

Alfred the Great (849–899). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Who was King Alfred the Great?

Read American history

The Second World War

Everything you need to know...

A mushroom cloud over Nagasaki after the dropping of the second atomic bomb, 9 August 1945. The dropping of the bomb prompted Japan to agree to surrender unconditionally, as it now seemed likely that the Americans could mount an inexorable process of bombing. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/Us Air Force/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Second World War

WW2 10 of the most important Second World War dates

Atomic bomb damage in the city of Hiroshima, 1945. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 “razed and burnt around 70 per cent of all buildings”, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Second World War

Was the US justified in dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War? You debate

American Flying Fortress bombers and a Mustang fighter practise formation flying over England, training for rain that would help break Nazi resistance. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)

Second World War

The Library The Allies’ big idea: the largest air battle of the Second World War

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The Pearl Harbour attack, 7 December 1941: sailors at the Naval Air Station, Ford Island, stand amid wreckage watching as the USS Shaw explodes in the centre background. The USS Nevada is also visible in the middle background, with her bow headed toward the left. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Second World War

The 11 most significant battles of the Second World War

An aerial view showing the courtroom during the Nuremberg Trials, November 1945. (Photo by Walter Sanders/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Second World War

Forgotten trials: the other side of Nuremberg

Clean-up crews salvaging what they can from the ruins of buildings in Hornsey, a north London suburb, 1944. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Second World War

The Library Hitler's secret weapon

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Women's history

Queen Victoria. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

Queen Victoria timeline: 9 milestones in the monarch’s life

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Jane Seymour: Henry VIII’s favourite queen

Viscountess Nancy Astor on her election campaign in 1919. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

The Library Women pioneers in parliament

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100 women who changed the world

Circa 1565, The Queen of England, Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603), by Marc Gerrarts. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

The 10 best English queens in history

Vienna Plague Hospital, 1679. (Getty Images)

The Library Women of the plague

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History Extra Podcast

The latest episodes from the History Extra podcast

Equestrian statue of Robert E. Lee, Richmond (Photo by Library of Congress)

Who should we commemorate?

Simon Sebag Montefiore on letters from history. (Photo by Dreamstime)

Letters that changed the world

Malcolm X speaking at a rally, 29 June 1963.(Photo by Bettmann/Getty Images)

Black radicalism with Kehinde Andrews

Adam Zamoyski offers his views on the iconic French leader, Napoleon. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)

Napoleon: the insecure emperor

A poverty-stricken migrant mother with three young children by Dorothea Lange, colourised by Marina Amaral. (Photo courtesy of Head of Zeus)

History in colour

Sir Walter Raleigh, 1552–1618 (Photo by Getty Images)

Walter Ralegh: enemy of the state

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A vintage colour postcard, possibly produced to send Christmas greetings from the frontline, somewhere on the Western Front, during the First World War, c1918. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

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Marble bust of Emperor Caligula. (DEA / A. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images)

The 8 bloodiest Roman emperors in history

A portrait of prime minister Lord Frederick North. His government was the first to be brought down by a vote of no confidence, in 1782. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Vote of no confidence: a brief history

(Illustration by Eleanor Shakespeare for BBC History Magazine)

36 books for history lovers: BBC History Magazine’s Christmas reading list

History Quizzes

How much do you know about history? Test out your knowledge with our quizzes...

The Romanovs, 1913: Nicholas II with his wife and children. (Photo by Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

History quiz – The Romanovs

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The results of the poll: 100 women who changed the world. (Photos by Getty Images/Alamy)

Quiz: 100 Women Who Changed The World

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