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Spitfires under construction at the Vickers Supermarine works in Southampton, around 1940

Second World War

The difficult birth of the Spitfire – and how the WW2 fighter almost missed the battle of Britain

‘Fake history’: hunting down false facts about the past

Exclusive podcast Game of Thrones’ medieval roots

Dr Amanda McVitty explains what treason meant in the medieval era, and why its consequences were particularly brutal. (Image by Getty Images)

Why treason was so unforgivable in the Middle Ages

Amelia Earhart, Princess Diana, Emmeline Pankhurst, Rosa Parks and Marie Curie. (Photo by Getty Images)

20 inspirational quotes from women through history for International Women’s Day

Latest articles

In the news

Today’s events in historical context…

Edward Jenner performs a vaccination, in an 1802 cartoon that lampoons the notion that being vaccinated will turn you into a cow

The race for a cure: how we found vaccines for 4 of history’s most dangerous diseases

Black and white photo of a group of women marching while holding a sign saying 'International Women's Day'

A brief history of International Women’s Day: what is it and why do we celebrate it?

Though green dominates the celebrations today, the colour blue was first associated with St Patrick. The earliest depictions of the saint show him in blue garments, as in this 13th century folio, La Vie des Sains. ( Image ©The British Library Board/Leemage / Bridgeman Images)

A brief history of St. Patrick’s Day

The Queen's husband, Prince Philip, as a young man

Your guide to the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip

BBCH Subs Books Feb 21 Home page

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…

Madame Tussaud's exhibition at Baker Street, London. But who was her first waxwork? (Photo by Bettmann, via Getty Images)

Q&A Who was Madame Tussaud’s first waxwork?

An engraving of the thin Red Line, depicting the 93rd Regiment at the battle of Balaklava

Q&A What was the Thin Red Line?

Queen Victoria smiling

Q&A Did Queen Victoria really say “We are not amused”?

Did Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler (pictured) ever meet? (Photos by Getty Images)

Second World War

Q&A Did Churchill and Hitler ever meet?

19th century advert for snuff

Q&A What was snuff?

Monument to Prince Vladimir the Great in Moscow

Q&A Who were the Kievan Rus and what do they have to do with the Vikings?

Read more answers from the experts

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HistoryExtra Podcast

The latest episodes from the History Extra podcast

Michael Goodman responds to your questions on the decades of geopolitical tension that shaped relations between east and west in the second half of the 20th century. (Image by Getty Images)

The Cold War: everything you wanted to know

In this lecture, Michael Wood uses the stories of five individuals from across the centuries to cast light on China’s rich and varied history

General ancient history

Voices of China

Mary Hollingsworth discusses her new book, Princes of the Renaissance, which charts the wars and alliances between the powerful Italian families of the 15th and 16th centuries. (Image by Getty Images)

Formidable dynasties of the Italian Renaissance

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

Gordon Campbell reveals how the Vikings made epic voyages of discovery across the Atlantic a millennium ago. (Image by Getty Images)

Vikings in North America

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Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

The real story of Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte: from glittering courts to tragic decline

Richard III, Queen Victoria and Henry VIII. (Photos by Getty Images)

Monarchy history quiz: test your knowledge of these kings and queens

From Thor to Odin, Carolyne Larrington discusses the legendary figures of Viking mythology. (Image by Getty Images)

A guide to the Norse gods

Carved wall scene depicting Cleopatra at Dendera Temple

Cleopatra: what is the real legacy of the last pharaoh?

Picture galleries

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

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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

VE Day revellers blowing party trumpets

Second World War

In pictures: jubilant VE Day street party celebrations

Latest articles

Public unrest and riots broke out with the introduction of the Corn Laws. (Image by Bettmann/Getty Images)

The 1815–46 Corn Laws: your guide to the crisis and why they were repealed

Nell Gwyn was a mistress of King Charles II

Nell Gywn: the orange girl who became a king’s mistress in Restoration England

A photograph of the battle of Moscow, 1942, first printed in Signal, a magazine published by the German Third Reich from 1940 to 1945. (Photo by Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Second World War

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

Soldiers from the Women's Royal Army Corps

Second World War

A brief guide to VE Day

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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

World leaders (l-r) Georges Clemenceau, Woodrow Wilson and Lloyd George after signing the treaty of Versailles at the end of the First World War. (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch/Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images)

How well do you know Year 9 history?

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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)

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Illustrated Medieval scene from the Romance of Lancelot

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Painting of Henry VIII

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

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