BBC History Magazine now has an Alexa skill, available on all Alexa devices.
It's free to enable and includes short biographies of historical figures* including Henry VIII, Queen Victoria, Julius Caesar and Winston Churchill.
How do I enable the BBC History Magazine skill for Alexa?
- The easiest way to enable the skill is to speak to your Alexa unit: "Alexa, enable BBC History Magazine"
- You can also log into your Amazon account and enable the skill via a link: BBC History Magazine skill
- For Alexa device owners who have the Alexa companion iOS app (or Android or Kindle Companion App):
- Open the Alexa companion App
- Tap on the top left burger icon once in the App
- Tap 'Skills & Games'
- Search for 'BBC History Magazine'
- Tap the entry in the list
- Tap 'Enable'
Once you've enabled the skill, explore by saying to the Alexa device: "Open BBC History Magazine"
Then once the greeting has finished say: "Tell me about a historical figure"
*The initial version includes information for 20 historical figures, and we'll be adding more in the future.