BBC History Magazine

The online archive of articles from BBC History Magazine

The Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies (Public Domain)

The real Harlots: Hallie Rubenhold on Covent Garden’s courtesans

Attila the Hun

General ancient history

Who was Attila the Hun, the barbarian ruler who terrorised the Romans?

An engraving of Margaret Tudor

The forgotten Tudor: Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII

Coming up in the next issue of BBC History Magazine…

Coming up in the October 2020 issue of BBC History Magazine

Sept 2020 BBC History Magazine

September 2020 issue of BBC History Magazine out now!

Sunbathers on Blackpool beach in 1954. (Credit: John Chillingworth/Getty Images)

Caravans, spa towns and seaside resorts: a brief history of British holidays

A thin section of the Great Wall of China near Beijing

General ancient history

10 facts about the Great Wall of China

Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I: a queen in a king’s world

Brothers in arms Louis IX on his way to the Seventh Crusade, 1248. The French king kept his three brothers onside – preventing any potential family infighting – by providing them with huge lordships. (Photo by Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

Bonds of blood: survival secrets of medieval royal families

An illustration depicting the death of William II at the hands of Walter Tirel. Although his death is thought to have been a hunting accident, some contemporary observers

Death in the New Forest: how King William II met his demise

A painting of the Princes in the Tower

Did Richard III really kill the Princes in the Tower?

A portrait of Queen Anne of Great Britain and Ireland.

Your guide to Queen Anne, the last of the Stuart monarchs

AFS firemen tackle a blitz fire amidst the rubble surrounding St Paul's Cathedral, London. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Second World War

Your guide to the Blitz, plus 9 places affected by the bombings

British writer Hilary Mantel photographed at home

Hilary Mantel on the secrets of successful historical fiction

What's History's Greatest Mystery?

General ancient history

What is history’s greatest mystery?