England

Two women share a tender moment, c1902

General History

Q&A Has it ever been a crime to be lesbian in England?

Christmas merriment in an old English manor in the 1500s

How to host a medieval Christmas

The characters Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, from Charles Dickens's work 'A Christmas Carol'

Did Charles Dickens invent Christmas as we know it today?

John Brown leading Queen Victoria on a horse.

Queen Victoria and John Brown: the controversial relationship between sovereign and servant

Periodic outbreaks of smog would continue for several years – this image shows a London street in late 1953. (Image by Getty Images)

The Great Smog of London: what caused the 1952 crisis?

Sæberht of Essex, who oversaw the building of London’s original church of St Paul’s (Photo by The Picture Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo)

How to survive the Dark Ages in Britain: 6 crucial tips

Photo of the display cabinet where the World Cup was stolen

What a pickle: how England lost, found and won the World Cup in a single year

This statue of Alfred the Great stands in Winchester, the former 'capital' of his kingdom (Photo by TonyBaggett via Getty Images)

What if... Alfred the Great lost to the Vikings at the battle of Edington?

King Henry V (left) in a late-16th- or early 17th-century portrait by an unknown artist; and his son Henry VI (right) in a c1500s portrait (Photos by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Why Henry VI’s reign was such a disaster

The queen – dressed in dark clothing – stands up from a table to deliver a speech

Annus Horribilis What happened in the Queen’s horrible year?

Prime minister and king in black and white photo

General History

Q&A Prior to 2022, has there ever been a new monarch and prime minister in Britain in the same week?

Harry Lloyd (Richard III) and Sally Hawkins (Philippa Langley) in The Lost King

The Lost King The difficult art of turning a true story into a movie

Photo of the Jarrow March

The Jarrow march The lasting legacy of the 1936 protest

The skeleton exhumed from beneath a Leicester car park in 2012. The remains contained features matching Tudor descriptions of Richard III, and injuries to the skull and body inflicted at the battle of Bosworth in 1485

Rediscovering Richard III The story of how a lost king was found

A missionary preaches to the Native Americans of Massachusetts, c1650. By now, colonists were imposing their values on the indigenous population, encouraging them to dress like the English – and worship the English God. (Photo by Ian Tyas/Keystone/Getty Images)

Britain's nuclear fears How has the UK prepared for Armageddon?