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The Floralia, an ancient Roman celebration of fertility and nature that took place around early May

What is the history behind May Day and why do we celebrate it?

Rich men, reckless affairs and ruined reputations: the scandalous lives of London's 18th-century courtesans. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Papal elections and tariff troubles: history behind the headlines. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of James III of Scotland

This medieval king was hunted down and brutally murdered — and we still don’t know who killed him

A penis depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry

“I counted the penises in the Bayeux Tapestry and I have no regrets”: what one Oxford professor found when he studied the rudest bits of the embroidery

The rise of James VI & I: when Britain went global. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustation of a pope

How long do popes reign? All you need to know about popes and the papacy

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An illustration of the coronation of King Henry III in the 13th century.

Was Henry III the worst king in medieval history? Our expert uncovers one of England's most disastrous reigns

Composite image of famous women: Cleopatra, Marie Curie, Mary Wollstonecraft, Madame CJ Walker, Jane Austen, Emmeline Pankhurst, Ethel Smyth, the Virgin Mary, Rosa Parks, Frida Kahlo, Diana, Princess of Wales, Amelia Earhart.

100 women who changed the world

Top, left to right: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour. Bottom, left to right: Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Katherine Parr.

Henry VIII’s six wives: your guide to the Tudor king's queen consorts

Portrait of King Edward VII

King Edward VII’s love chairHow did Dirty Bertie’s siège d’amour actually work?

On this day in history

What happened on this day in the past? We round up the landmark events, births, deaths and more...

2 May

1 May

Historical anniversariesMay

30 April

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From the podcast

Incredible historical stories from the recent episodes of the HistoryExtra podcast

A hand holding a knife with a rose blooming from the handle

‘She didn’t cry’: how this Tudor woman’s lack of emotion condemned her to death

JFK and Marilyn Monroe

“Risks he should never have taken”: a historian’s take on JFK’s sexual waywardness

A 1950s advertisement for the paint company Robbialac, depicting a couple preparing food. (Photo by Getty Images)

Is this the most despicable home furnishing trend in British history?

A fireman pulls his hose through the smouldering ruins of a bombed out church in London in the Blitz.

Second World War

WW2’s ‘Blackout Ripper’: how a respected war hero manipulated the Blitz and became a serial killer

A mosaic panel depicting Roman wrestlers.

How the Romans "reversed circumcision" and 5 other shocking medical realities from the ancient empire

A photograph of Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Second World War

Simon Schama on British history if Hitler had beaten Churchill: "The Holocaust would have happened here"

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How the English took Manhattan. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Troubadours: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The 93 penises of the Bayeux Tapestry. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sex lives of the Anglo-Saxons. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The great siege of Malta: Knights Hospitaller vs the Ottoman empire. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Joanna Plantagenet: life of the week. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Suleyman the Magnificent's bid for world domination. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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“Some say that the first Jews sailed here on King Solomon’s ships”: Kavita Puri on India's long Jewish history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hollerith Machines Block C at Bletchley Park

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The day the machines fell silent at Bletchley Park

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The "outwardly respectable" man who had a body in his basement: how the Dr Crippen case shocked Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

My history heroMichael Buerk chooses Robert FitzRoy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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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)

QuizHow much do you know about the Vikings?

Flagellants or Brothers of the Cross in Netherlands scourging themselves as they walk through streets

QuizHow much do you know about medieval history?

General History

Quiz of the weekWhich notable figure from history was born on 28 April 1908?

The effects of the disease known as the Black Death

History quiz: how much do you know about the Black Death?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

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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)

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

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

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