People watching the Royal Wedding

United Kingdom

A woodcut of a woman thought to be baking bread, printed in 1497. In the Middle Ages baking was a luxury few were able to enjoy, but those who could afford a wood-burning stove would start with bread. In the 15th century Britain saw explosion of expensive spices, such as saffron, and sweetened dough became popular. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

A brief history of baking

General prehistory

12 historical places to visit on the August bank holiday weekend

Female spies of the Civil War era.

A view of the Reculver Towers, Reculver, England. (Photo by Loop Images/UIG via Getty Images)

8 of Britain’s most mysterious ruins

Robert the Bruce, famous for beating the English army of Edward II despite having far fewer troops, is commemorated at the 1314 battleground in Bannockburn. (Dreamstime)

Robert the Bruce: champion of Scotland or murderous usurper?.

A scene depicted on the 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

The Normans: a timeline

Captain Cook's Endeavour podcast

Captain Cook’s Endeavour.

By the time George II came to the throne in 1727, Britain was a nation addicted to gaming. A Georgian gaming table is shown in this sketch by Thomas Rowlandson. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

“A nation addicted to gaming”: the Georgians’ crackdown on addictive betting.

Reassessing William the Conqueror.

Dan Jones on the secrets of popular history

Dan Jones on the secrets of popular history.

Sunset over the causeway to St Michael's Mount, Marazion, Cornwall, England (Getty Images)

9 places associated with the Prayer Book Rebellion.

As many as 15 people may have been killed, and a further 500 badly injured, during the 1819 riot in Manchester that came to be known as the 'Peterloo' Massacre. (Rischgitz/Getty Images)

16 August 1819: Militia massacres protesters at ‘Peterloo’

Elizabeth I podcast

Inside the mind of Elizabeth I.

Britons under Nazi rule podcast

Britons under Nazi rule.

Barristers' wigs

Q&AWhy are barristers ‘called to the bar’?

"Queen Victoria was more than just a token ruler of India. Passionately interested in its people and culture, she intervened frequently in Indian politics," says Miles Taylor. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

The LibraryQueen Victoria’s Indians.

Nurses serve lunch to patients at a Birmingham hospital, 1939. (Photo by Humphrey Spender/Picture Post/Getty Images)

What was healthcare like in Britain before the NHS?

Guillaume de Jumieges, Cesta Normanorum, f° 116, letter with dropped initial, William the Conqueror receives the chronicler's manuscript, 11th century, France, Rouen, Bibliotheque Municipale.

William the Conqueror: hero or villain?

The Ripper of our nightmares: 5 theories about Jack the Ripper's identity

A portrait of King James I of Scotland. James was taken prisoner by the English in 1406, and it would be 18 years before he was freed to take the reins of power in his native nation. (Photo by Bridgeman Art Library)

James I: Henry V’s Scottish protege.

The ‘Princes in the Tower’: Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, disappeared in mysterious circumstances following the death of their father, King Edward IV. (The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

6 notorious unsolved crimes from history.

British former field marshal Douglas Haig, inspects poppies before Armistice Day, October 1922. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Remembering the First World War: blood, poppies and poetry.

Portrait of Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, 1536. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)

Henry VIII's six wives in a different light.

The LibraryHow King Henry I made and blew a fortune.

Portrait of Richard III, dated 15th century. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Treachery at Bosworth: what really brought down Richard III.

Members of the Palmers Green and Winchmore Hill LNER (London and North Eastern Railway) LDV (Local Defence Volunteers) dressed in their civilian clothes march along a platform passing a steam locomotive on 1 July 1940 in London. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The Dad’s Army guide to defending Britain.

(Photo by Katie Edwards/Alamy Stock Photo)

Do we really live in a less charitable society than 50 years ago?

Podcast with Jonathan Ruffle

The Tommies' final acts.

Penshurst house

The LibraryHighlights of medieval Britain.

Catholics in Elizabethan England.