Early comic panel illustration

England

Illustation by Femke de Jong.

Michael Wood on Anglo-Saxon Christianity

A 19th-century depiction of the first meeting of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

History quiz: Christmas with Henry VIII and his wives

An aerial image of Maiden Castle, site of Britain's largest hillfort. (Photo by Robert Harding/Getty Images)

What was life like in the Iron Age? Plus 6 places in Britain to explore

Illustration by Lynn Hatzius

Britain’s Bonnie and Clyde

Blitz

Second World War

The cruel cost of the Blitz: how did everyday Britons rebuild their lives?

Black faces of Tudor England

Charles II on the run

The May 1940 War Cabinet Crisis: Churchill’s darkest hour?

What are Henry VIII powers?

High Victorian style garden designed by James Bateman. (Getty Images)

History explorerVictorian gardens

British prime minister Winston Churchill greeting the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. From left to right: Princess Elizabeth II; the Queen Mother; Churchill, King George VI and Princess Margaret. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Buckingham Palace’s balcony: a focal point for national celebration

A map of London dating from c1572. (Getty Images)

Life in Tudor London

Illustration by Sarah Young

Ælfthryth: England’s first queen

Travelling Mass set, c1535, consisting of a silver-gilt chalice; a paten (Communion plate) and a glass bottle for wine, with a leather box in which to carry them. (Photo by Museum of London/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Henry VIII's savage Reformation

Who decided Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, should be executed?

History of Harrods: a brief guide to the Knightsbridge landmark

Irish national hero Hugh O'Neill, the 2nd Earl of Tyrone, makes a formal submission to the English following the suppression of his Irish rebellion, 1603. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The LibraryHugh O'Neill: Elizabeth I’s Irish nemesis

Charles Darwin sports his trademark bushy beard in 1877. (Photo by Corbis Historical/Getty Images)

From Charles Darwin’s beard to George Eliot’s right hand: 4 famous Victorian bodily quirks

A woodcut print of the medieval town of Pisa.

History quiz – shambles, soldiers and medieval towns

Section of the Bayeux Tapestry depicting a woman and child fleeing from a burning house. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

The Anglo-Saxons’ last stand

Photo of gauntlets

Q&AWhy do we say throw down the gauntlet?

Lady Hall launches the British India Company passenger liner SS Uganda in Clydeside docks with the traditional bottle of champagne, 1952. The first time champagne was used to launch a ship was when Queen Victoria launched HMS Royal Arthur in 1891. (Photo by George Douglas/Getty Images)

Q&AWhy do we smash champagne bottles against new ships?

A London slum family stood in a street with all their possessions following eviction, c1901. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Life in 19th-century slums: Victorian London’s homes from hell

Q&AQ&A: Why is Portugal known as Britain’s oldest ally?

Adrian Turner as Poldark. (Photo by BBC Pictures)

Poldark’s Cornwall: the history behind the hit series

The 1016 Danish Conquest that led to the battle of Hastings

Sheet music.

History quiz – songs, space stations and capital cities

View of the Waterloo Gallery at Apsley House, London. (Photo by English Heritage/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The LibraryHistory explorer: the Napoleonic Wars

Newcastle upon Tyne, 1877, published in the Illustrated London News. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

The LibraryEngland’s northern soul

An engraving by Wenceslaus Hollar depicting Old St Paul's on fire during the Great Fire of London, 1666. Frantic efforts to fight the flames quickly turned into an equally fevered search for a scapegoat. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

The Library1666: when London burned with rage