People watching the Royal Wedding

United Kingdom

Enola Holmes (left to right): Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes, Millie Bobby Brown as Enola Holmes, Sam Caflin as Mycroft Holmes. (Photo by Robert Viglaski/Legendary)

From Enola Holmes to Fanny Dickens: recognising 5 historical women ‘overshadowed’ by their more famous brothers. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Spanish Princess Part II. (Image by Starz)

The real history behind The Spanish Princess

Actor William Gillette playing the detective Sherlock Holmes. (Photo by Gillette/London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images)

11 things you (probably) didn’t know about Sherlock Holmes

An official of the British East India Company riding on an elephant with an escort of foot soldiers and mounted Indian retainers, India, end of 18th century (Photo by Getty Images)

The East India Company: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ghosts of Viking London. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of Catherine of Aragon

Your guide to Catherine of Aragon: Henry VIII’s first wife and mother of Mary I

Pilgrim Fathers boarding the Mayflower

5 facts about the Mayflower

A painting of the Tudor succession

The truth about the Tudors: what 5 kings and queens were really like behind closed doors. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

London burns behind Tower Bridge on 7 September 1940

Second World War

Days of destiny: 5 key dates in the Battle of Britain

A Hawker Hurricane in flight over Britain

Second World War

Your guide to the Battle of Britain: how the RAF turned back the Luftwaffe

History graduate Steve Humphries' 1998 film exploring the stories of women who worked in Magdalene laundries

How my history degree led to my dream job. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Queen Victoria with her children and grandchildren

The marriages of Queen Victoria’s grandchildren: how the dynasty shaped Europe

How did England react to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1751? (Illustration for BBC History Magazine)

Q&ADid the introduction of the Gregorian calendar spark riots?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A suffragette march

The Suffragettes: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Elizabeth I knights Francis Drake on his ship Golden Hind after his round-the-world voyage. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

How did Elizabeth I feel about being queen in a 'man's world'? | Tracy Borman explains

Illustration by Joey Guidone

The big question: has terrorism ever achieved its aims?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I: a queen in a king’s world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration depicting the deposition of the body of Edward the Confessor in the tomb at Westminster in 1066. (

Was the early medieval period a "golden age" for the elderly?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

William Cecil, also known as Lord Burghley, with Queen Elizabeth I. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Your guide to William Cecil, chief adviser to Queen Elizabeth I

London during the Blitz - the systematic night-time bombing of the British by the Luftwaffe in 1940 - 1941. (Photo by Getty Images)

Rationing, school closures and 'Blitz spirit': how did people cope in WW2?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Elizabeth I, shown in a portrait commemorating victory over the Armada

Elizabeth I: a guide to her life and rule, plus 7 facts you might not know

AFS firemen tackle a blitz fire amidst the rubble surrounding St Paul's Cathedral, London. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Second World War

Your guide to the Blitz, plus 9 places affected by the bombings

King Arthur and a hand holding the sword Excalibur.

The legends of King Arthur: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

It was the need for witnesses in divorce courts – ones who wouldn’t mind their names being linked to scandals, no less – that partly gave rise to female detectives. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)

Women detectives: meet the Victorian female super sleuths. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tudors history quizTest your knowledge of the dynamic dynasty

Britain goes to war. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Evening Light on Hadrian's Wall

The Romans in Britain: exploitation or innovation?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

c1954: A photo-fiction serial telling the story of a young couple on honeymoon in the South of France. The parts are played by actors Mark Hashfield and Simone Lovell. (Photo by Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of honeymoons (and how the post-wedding holiday got its name)

Ernest Bevin

Ernest Bevin: working-class warrior. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Henry Fitzroy

Henry Fitzroy: how Henry VIII’s “bastard son” rocked the Tudor court