People watching the Royal Wedding

United Kingdom

Andrew Roberts (Photo by Helen Atkinson)

Secrets of war leadership.

A postcard showing for women hunting for a man with guns and dogs.

Why do women propose in a leap year?

The Battle of Bunker Hill

From Scots Highlanders to German soldiers: the Europeans who fought on both sides of the War of American Independence.

An Art Deco mechanical valentine (moving the cape causes the arms to move up and down) from the 1930s. (Photo by Alan Mays)

'Vinegar Valentines': 9 surprisingly dark Valentine's Day cards from the past.

Prime Minister Harold Macmillan at Admiralty House, London

History heroMichael Heseltine chooses Harold Macmillan (1894–1986).

Queen Victoria refused to wear her crimson velvet robes of state for her wedding to Albert. Instead, she opted for a dress of pure white and “simple magnificence”. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)

“Nothing could have gone off better”: the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

'The Young Victoria' follows the early relationship of Victoria and her beloved Prince Albert. The monarch was played by Emily Blunt in the 2009 film. (Images by Bettmann/Getty Images/Alamy)

Leading ladies in love: 6 historical movies to watch this Valentine’s Day.

Bottle of 'love potion'

General ancient history

Spanish fly, holy bread and mashed worms: history's weirdest aphrodisiacs and love potions

During his time in Oxford, Wilde fully embraced ‘aesthetic flair’: growing his hair long; dressing in flamboyant fashions and assuming exaggerated affectations. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

7 facts you (probably) didn’t know about Oscar Wilde

Henrietta Boyle

Fashion history: dressing to impress in the 17th century.

A bust of Charlemagne

Charlemagne: creating the myth.

The execution of Charles I in 1649.

To kill a king: 350 years of regicide.

William of Orange landing at Torbay, 1688

Your guide to...the Glorious Revolution

The 18th-century rabbit breeding hoax (Photo by Getty Images)

The woman who gave birth to rabbits.

January 1973: Londoners reading the newspapers headlining Britain's entry into the Common Market.

When did the UK join the European Economic Community (EEC) and why?

(Illustration by Davide Bonazzi for BBC History Magazine)

The big question: has the European Union been a success?

Members of the royal family at an event marking the centenary of the Royal Air Force. (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Opposing the royals: a brief history of republicanism in Britain.

Indian soldiers during WWI

Indians in the trenches.

Portrait of John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (Lord Lucan), who disappeared in 1974 following a bloody homicide

The curious case of Lord Lucan + 10 other mysterious disappearances from history.

Policemen from Scotland Yard patrolling at night

Real-life Sherlocks: the detectives of Scotland Yard and their curious cases.

Thomas Blood stealing the Crown Jewels

The day Thomas Blood stole the Crown Jewels.

An illustration of the barons compelling King John to ratify Magna Carta, 1215. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

6 facts about Magna Carta

Holocaust orphans (Photo by Getty)

The Holocaust orphans.

The state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill

The death of Sir Winston Churchill and the top-secret plans for his funeral

An engraving depicts a frost fair on the Thames

Frozen: Britain's Little Ice Age

Simon de Montfort’s medieval revolution.

Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector

Royalists, beards and cowardice: are these the strangest taxes in history?.

Princess Margaret wearing a fur coat

The Queen's "rebel sister": 13 facts about Princess Margaret

Sir Nicholas Winton

Second World War

The 'British Schindler' who saved 669 children from the Nazis

American president Warren G Harding and his wife, First Lady Florence Harding.

Tension in the Middle East and populist presidents: what the world was like 100 years ago.