People watching the Royal Wedding

United Kingdom

Kathleen Kenyon challenged biblical accounts with her pioneering work at the ancient city of Jericho. (Photo by Bettmann/contributor via Getty Images)

My history hero: Kathleen Kenyon (1906–78). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Douglas Haig (right) watches the stamping of poppies by ex-servicemen, during a visit to the British Legion poppy factory in Richmond, 22 October 1926. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

The LibraryDouglas Haig: a postwar revolutionary?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth I’s ‘spymaster’. (Photo by Photo 12/UIG via Getty Images)

Sir Francis Walsingham: spy-master extraordinaire and Elizabeth I’s security chief. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

View across the river Clyde to Dumbarton Rock and the medieval Dumbarton Castle. (Photo by Martin W Holt via Getty Images)

History explorer: Alfred and the Vikings. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Roche Abbey, Yorkshire

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Anne of Cleves House, East Sussex

The front page of the first edition of The Sun newspaper. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

A big day in history: The Sun first appeared on shelves in newsagents. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Caerphilly Castle, Glamorgan

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Bernard Cornwell on his novels. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The East India Company and Nelson. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The spies of Queen Elizabeth I. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Being a British Missionary and troubles in Ireland. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The end of slavery and headaches in history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Bluestones, like these in the Preseli hills, were used to build Stonehenge. (Photo by Paula Connelly via Getty Images)

Britain’s buried secrets. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A London Missionary Society (LMS) mission in Papua New Guinea, c1920s. (Photo by Chronicle/Alamy Stock Photo)

Married to a missionary. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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To the Ends of the Earth: Scotland’s Global Diaspora, 1750–2010

Clare Priory, Suffolk

My history hero: Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Henry VII in 1505. His claim to the throne was tenuous and he had to see off a posse of pretenders, yet he proved a canny and competent ruler, modernising the justice system and filling the crown’s coffers. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Henry VII: the survivor and stabiliser. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Is public spending elbowing out private endeavour?

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The BBC Story

Pieces from the Lewis Chessmen, some of the earliest chessmen to survive.

In pictures: what are the Lewis Chessmen?

Greek slavery, Victorian heroism and Dan Snow on cars. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Victorian telegraph and Dan Snow on his new series. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryThe conquest of Wales and Mary I. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Poxed and Scurvied

A poster depicting a First World War soldier musing over having caught a venereal disease while on furlough.(Photo by David Pollack/Corbis via Getty Images)

Sex and the First World War: the Tommies who visited brothels. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BBC History Magazine

Imperial Endgame