Early comic panel illustration

England

A dinner scene from Downton Abbey, with large candlesticks on the table

Could you survive an Edwardian dinner party?

The daughter and great-niece of Henry VIII respectively, Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots didn't feel strong family ties when it came to their relationship. (Photo by Getty Images)

Queens at war: Elizabeth I vs Mary, Queen of Scots

Henri III: Elizabeth I’s unlikely ally

ExploreA masterpiece of Gothic grandeur: the Church of St Mary, Warwick

A 16th-century portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Mary, Queen of Scots: the real history behind the film

Robin Hood statue outside Nottingham Castle (Photo by Getty)

The many faces of Robin Hood

A real Peaky Blinder mug-shot

In pictures: what did the real Peaky Blinders look like?

Portrait of Prince Albert

8 fascinating facts about Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert

An 18th-century public execution and crowd

Q&AWhen did people stop attending public executions in Britain?

Statue of Lady Godiva

Q&ADid Lady Godiva ride naked in Coventry?

William of Orange at the battle of the Boyne

Q&AWhen was England last successfully invaded by a foreign power?

A beach scene at an Easter Bank Holiday at Southend, c1927. In 1871, the Bank Holiday Act established the first paid days off for commonworkers in England, while some senior managers could be granted extra leave. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Q&AWhen were Brits first given leave from work to go on holiday?

In 1358, women finally gained full knightly acceptance in England when they began to be admitted to chivalric orders. (Photo by Eugene Antonov/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Q&ACould a woman become a knight in medieval times?

19th-century mugshots

The real Peaky Blinders

Aerial view of Dover Castle

ExploreExplore Dover Castle: Britain’s first line of defence

Cavalry charge into a crowd of protesters at St Peter's Field, Manchester, as depicted in an 1819 engraving. What followed was the worst violence ever to occur at a political meeting in Britain. (Picture by Alamy)

The Peterloo Massacre: what did it achieve?

A portrait of Sir Walter Ralegh

Q&ADid Sir Walter Ralegh really lay down his cloak for Elizabeth I?

Q&A'God Save The Queen': how old is the British national anthem?

Winchester Cathedral

From King Alfred to Jane Austen: a historical tour of Winchester

Prime ministers Robert Walpole and Boris Johnson

From Walpole to Boris: a brief history of Eton College and the 20 prime ministers it has produced

The HMS Victory in Portsmouth

A visit to HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar

Literary women through the ages: Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf and Charlotte Brontë all enjoyed female friendships which enriched their writing, say Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney. (Getty Images)

From Austen & Brontë to Woolf: literature’s forgotten female friendships

A depiction of the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (10 September 1547), the last formal battle between England and Scotland. (Photo by Print Collector/Getty Images)

Q&AWhen was the last battle between England and Scotland?

Henry VIII's Mary Rose (© 19th era/Alamy)

7 things you (probably) didn’t know about Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose

A cartoon showing a man in a suit of armour on the moon

Q&ADid NASA really pick the brains of the Tower of London armoury when designing the first space suits?

Illustration by Glen McBeth.

Q&AWhen did the leopards on the royal arms of England become the lions depicted today?

Britain’s 7 most amazing stately homes

Clash between the English Temeraire and the French Redoutable ships during the Battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

The battle of Trafalgar

Dornier 217 bombers of the Luftwaffe bomb London during the Battle of Britain. "The crucial role of the RAF in denying the Germans control of the air in 1940 and therefore persuading Hitler to abandon his invasion plans is so well known that it might seem almost sacrilegious to question it, " says Sean Lang. "But was it solely responsible for saving Britain from invasion? Not quite." (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

9 of the most overrated battles in history (and one underrated one)

History ExplorerThe Holy Island of Lindisfarne