England

Princess Margaret attends the premiere of Captain Horatio Hornblower, Leicester Square, 1951. (Photo by Ron Burton/Keystone/Getty Images)

The Queen’s “rebel sister”: 8 facts about Princess Margaret

The effects of the disease known as the Black Death

Black Death quarantine: how did we try to contain the most deadly disease in history?

A visitor looks at the Bayeux tapestry in Bayeux, western France. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images)

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Normans, but were afraid to ask

Two lovers embrace in this 18th century painting.

How has dating changed over time? A brief history of courtship

Illustration of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn on their wedding day

The royal weddings of Henry VIII: Alison Weir on what came before divorced, beheaded, died…

The British royal family at the Queen's annual birthday parade 2019

A brief guide to the British royal family, by The Crown’s historian Robert Lacey

Soldiers from the Women's Royal Army Corps

Second World War

A brief guide to VE Day

Charles and Camilla, 1979

Prince Charles and Camilla: a history of their romance

PT Barnum and General Tom Thumb

The greatest show on earth? The myths of the Victorian freak show

Henry V. (© Lebrecht Music and Arts Photo Library / Alamy)

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about Henry V and the battle of Agincourt

Illustration by Eleanor Shakespeare.

Christian Frederick Cole: England’s first black barrister

Illustration of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). (Photo by Alamy)

Coronavirus: what might we learn from pandemics in the past?

Illustration of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). (Photo by Alamy)

Coronavirus: a historical perspective

'The Poor Actress's Christmas Dinner', a painting by pre-Raphaelite artist Robert Braithwaite Martineau, says much about the way Victorians had begun to understand the problem of loneliness. (Photo by Bridgeman Art Library)

The invention of loneliness: why being ‘unhappy alone’ is a surprisingly modern idea

Elizabeth II and Prince Philip with their third son, Prince Edward, on the balcony at Buckingham Palace. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of royal mothers and childbirth