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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

Ada Lovelace: a visionary of computing

The Library Why has Britain decided to leave the EU?

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History advent calendar: 24 facts about Christmas in the Tudor period

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Alfred Nobel. (Bettmann/Getty Images)

Great misconceptions: There is a Nobel Prize for economics

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)

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Engraved portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images).

In profile: Mary, Queen of Scots

1st May 1975: Three documents, for and against, published for the referendum on the Common Market. The document 'Britain's New Deal in Europe' (centre) contains a recommendation by the government signed by prime minister Harold Wilson for Britain to stay in the Community. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Britain decides: the first European referendum

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

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)

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The legacy of Confucius

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Illustration by Sarah Young

Ælfthryth: England’s first queen

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

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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

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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)

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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)

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

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Vienna Plague Hospital, 1679. (Getty Images)

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History Extra Podcast

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

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

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

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Paddy Ashdown. (Photo by Alamy)

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Mary, Queen of Scots (reigned 1542–67) was “absolutely useless as queen of Scotland”, says historian Sean Lang. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

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The 30th Annual Academy Awards, Los Angeles, 1958. (Ralph Crane/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

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Captain Lewis Edward Nolan, 15th Hussars, the Crimean War, 1854. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

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Will Millard – presenter of the BBC series 'Hidden Wales'. (Photo by BBC Wales)

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

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