London

Queen Victoria

The final days and death of Queen Victoria

The characters Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, from Charles Dickens's work 'A Christmas Carol'. (Photo by Alamy/Mary Evans)

Did Charles Dickens invent Christmas as we know it today?

Rotten boroughs cartoon

9 general election curiosities through history

Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace was constructed of iron and glass – so how and why did it burn down?

Charles and Camilla, 1979

Prince Charles and Camilla: a history of their romance

Hallie Rubenhold photographed in London. "In the 19th century, being both poor and a woman was a terrible combination. The cards were stacked against them," she says. (Photography by Fran Monks)

Hallie Rubenhold: “To most people, the women killed by the Ripper are just corpses. I want to tell a different story”

Actress Sarah Bernhardt, who was personally invited by Oscar Wilde to play the title role in the upcoming London premiere of his play, 'Salomé'.

6 of London theatre’s most notable historical scandals

11th November 1918: An army lorry in a London street on Armistice Day, carrying jubilant passengers. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

First World War

11 November 1918: The day the world turned upside down

Simon the cat

10 top cats in history

Being invited to become a 'guest' of the Tower of London in medieval England meant, more often than not, that you would soon be food for the crows. (Image by Getty Images/RM Creative)

10 historical haunted sites across Britain

It was in the Cabinet Room that Churchill would meet with his ministers and make the critical decisions that would shape the war. (Image by Getty Images)

Second World War

A visit to the Churchill War Rooms, London

Gin Lane, a print issued in 1751 by painter and printmaker William Hogarth. It depicts the perceived evils of the consumption of gin. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

The 18th-century craze for gin

30th June 1963: Some of the many hundreds of supporters of the CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) and the Committee of 100 waiting outside Birch Grove, the country home of British prime minister Harold Macmillan, where he and American president John F Kennedy are having weekend talks. (Photo by Kent Gavin/Keystone/Getty Images)

Peter Hennessy on Britain in transition

Historian and writer William Dalrymple during the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2017 (Photo by Martina Bocchio / Awakening / Alamy)

William Dalrymple on the East India Company

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