20th Century

Comedian Rhona Cameron and political activist Peter Tatchell help to hold a banner at an LGBT Pride event in London, 1998. (Photo by Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The historians’ view: is the world finally waking up to transgender issues?

Queen Victoria with her children and grandchildren

The marriages of Queen Victoria’s grandchildren

Are we returning to an age of political extremes? (Illustration by Davide Bonazzi for BBC World Histories Magazine)

The big question Are we returning to an age of political extremes?

Though green dominates the celebrations today, the colour blue was first associated with St Patrick. The earliest depictions of the saint show him in blue garments, as in this 13th century folio, La Vie des Sains. ( Image ©The British Library Board/Leemage / Bridgeman Images)

6 facts you might not know about the history of St Patrick’s Day

British military behind a barricade in Dublin, 1916. (Photo by ullstein picture via Getty Images)

Bullets and ballot boxes: a history of Anglo-Irish relations since the Easter Rising

Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty in WWI. (Photo by Bettmann/Getty Images)

First World War

Churchill’s navy

Ramsay MacDonald, the first British Labour prime minister, pictured after the general election of 1931. His decision to lead a coalition government (a national government supported mainly by Conservatives and Liberals) was considered a betrayal by many in the Labour party. (Photo by London Express/Getty Images)

A brief history of the Labour Party

A portrait of prime minister Lord Frederick North. His government was the first to be brought down by a vote of no confidence, in 1782. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Vote of no confidence: a brief history

"For those of noble birth who were condemned to die, execution by beheading (which was considered the least brutal method of execution) was used until the 18th century," says criminologist and historian Lizzie Seal. This illustration depicts the execution of Charles I in January 1649. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of capital punishment in Britain

An unidentified sitter for photographer Gerty Simon. (© The Bernard Simon Estate, Wiener Library Collections)

The lost sitters of photographer Gerty Simon – can you help?

A cartoon from 1862 shows a pair 'garroters' attacking a victim. (Photo by The Cartoon Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Knife-crime fears: how have we responded through history?

Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor, sits with his wife, Wallis Simpson, at the Chateau de Cands in France, 1937. (Photo by Bettmann via Getty Images)

Edward VIII: Nazi sympathiser, playboy prince or peace-loving reformer?

The 30th Annual Academy Awards, Los Angeles, 1958. (Ralph Crane/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

13 remarkable moments in the history of the Oscars

A cartoon from 'Punch' magazine (1903) titled 'Fidgety Joe', by Edward Linley Sambourne, depicting two parents representing the Duke of Devonshire and Arthur Balfour (centre), respective leaders of the Liberal Unionist and Conservative parties, trying to control their son, Joseph Chamberlain. In 1903, Joseph Chamberlain began his famous crusade for Imperial Preference – an issue which caused deep divisions in the government and ultimately paved the way for the Liberal Party's return to power in the 1906 general election. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Brexit, the Corn Laws and the Common Market: a brief history of Britain’s trade deals