Explainer

Portrait of Catherine Howard

11 facts about Catherine Howard

The original ‘Big Three’ at Livadia Palace in Yalta: Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin. None of them came away from the summit with everything they had hoped for. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)

Second World War

Your guide to...The Yalta and Potsdam conferences, 1945

Tom Hanks in 'Greyhound' (2020)

Second World War

The real history that inspired WW2 film Greyhound

Adolf Hitler photographed with Nazi war generals

Second World War

What was Operation Sealion, Hitler’s planned invasion of Britain? And why was it cancelled?

Globe Theatre illustration

The Globe theatre fire of 1613: when Shakespeare’s playhouse burned down

Simo Häyhä, said to be the deadliest sniper in history

Second World War

The world’s deadliest sniper: Simo Häyhä

Marble bust of Nero

Emperor Nero: the tyrant of Rome

Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, 1521. This was an assembly of the Holy Roman Empire called by King Charles V in Heylshof Garden, Worms, to address Martin Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation. (Photo by The Print Collector via Getty Images)

What was the Reformation?

c1190 A scene from the Third Crusade depicting the surrender of Acre to the armies of King Richard I of England and Philippe Auguste of France. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

What were the crusades? Your top questions answered

An engraving depicting a scene of chaos at Bethlem Royal Hospital

Bethlem Royal Hospital: why did the infamous Bedlam asylum have such a fearsome reputation?

King Edward II

In profile: King Edward II

Painting of an auto-da-fé

Your guide to...the Spanish Inquisition

Clothes infected by the Black Death are burned in medieval Europe, c1340. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Black Death facts: your guide to "the worst catastrophe in recorded history"

A medieval couple being married by a clergyman

Love and marriage in medieval England

Engraving of the death of Cleopatra

When and how did Queen Cleopatra die and who killed her?

Spartacus is now associated with political upheaval, as in the 1919 Spartacist uprising.

Who were the gladiators of ancient Rome? Plus Spartacus, Crixus and 8 more fighters you should know

Stained glass image of King Cnut

Your guide to King Cnut: the fierce Danish warrior who ruled England

Coins depicting Viking longships

A brief history of the Vikings

c1895: Queen Victoria with her family. Standing left to right: Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein; Prince Henry of Battenberg; Count Arthur Mensdorff-Pouilly; Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg; George, Duke of York. Seated left to right: Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg; Queen Victoria; Victoria Mary, Duchess of York holding Prince Edward of York; Prince Arthur of Connaught; and Prince Alexander of Battenberg. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Who were Queen Victoria's children? Everything you need to know about her sons and daughters

Prisoners at Bergen-Belsen

Second World War

A brief history of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where Anne Frank died

John Wilkes Booth leans forward to shoot President Abraham Lincoln as he watches a play at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C, in 1865.

Q&AWhat play was Abraham Lincoln watching when he was shot?

Why were the Tudors called the Tudors? The answer lies with Catherine of Valois (pictured), widow of Henry V. (Photo by Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty)

Q&AWhy were they called the Tudors?

Tomb of Richard the Lionheart

Q&AHow did Richard the Lionheart die? And where is he buried?

c1656: A plague doctor in protective clothing. The beak mask held spices thought to purify air, while the wand was used to avoid touching patients. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Q&AWhy did 17th-century plague doctors wear peculiar beaked masks?

From 'eyesore' to icon: a brief history of the Eiffel Tower

The effects of the disease known as the Black Death

Black Death quarantine: how did we try to contain the most deadly disease in history?

Two American soldiers wait for the second wave of combat helicopters of the 1st Air Cavalry Division during Operation Pershing during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War defined America in the second half of the 20th century. (Photo by Patrick Christain/Getty Images)

Your guide to the Vietnam War – plus 7 surprising facts you might not know

Henry VIII

Q&AWhat was the Sweating Sickness? And how did Henry VIII ‘self-isolate’?

The truth about Viking berserkers

Anne Frank - Getty Images

Second World War

12 things you need to know about Anne Frank and her diary