Period

Hans Holbein the Younger’s portrait of Henry VIII, c1537. Henry’s clash with the church was, says George Bernard, the most significant episode of the Tudor era and transformed England’s relationship with continental Europe. (Photo by Print Collector/Getty Images)

The LibraryHenry VIII and the scourge of papal power

A crowned Tudor rose. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Stringer via Getty Images)

Why the Tudors grab us. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustration by Jonty Clark

Ye olde travel guide: Rome 192 AD. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A statue of Æthelflæd which stands in the grounds of Tamworth Castle in Staffordshire. (Photo by Chris Gibson/Alamy Stock Photo)

Æthelflæd: iron lady of Mercia. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

TimelineKey moments in the American civil rights movement

Shakespeare’s greatest actor. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Napoleon Bonaparte of France. (Hulton Fine Art Collection via Getty Images)

Bad manners and a game of thrones: inside the court of Napoleon Bonaparte. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Vietnam War on film. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The secret intimacies of Edward IV: multiple marriages and a same-sex affair?

Medieval mystics. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The real history behind ‘The Crown’ with Robert Lacey. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A badge featuring American civil rights activist Martin Luther King

The global legacy of Martin Luther King. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A quick history of France. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Designer duo, husband and wife Robin and Lucienne Day, 1955. The pair “were perhaps the greatest British man and wife design team there has ever been”, says Wayne Hemingway. (Photo by Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy Stock Photo)

My history hero: Robin Day (1915–2010) and Lucienne Day (1917–2010). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Martin Luther King waves to supporters on the Mall in Washington DC during the March on Washington, 28 August 1963. (Photo by AFP/Getty Images)

Martin Luther King's unfinished dream: the historians' view

The ‘Princes in the Tower’

The 5 greatest mysteries behind the Wars of the Roses. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Shakespeare’s best (or worst) villains. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Creating the SAS. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

8 of Britain’s best battlefields. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Opposing the Nazis. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

c1930: a man wrestles his tamed bear. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)

Bizarre England: 11 of the strangest attractions and traditions in history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hitler meets members of the Reich Labour Service. (Photo by AKG)

Q&A: Are any laws made by the Nazi regime still in use?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Brunel: a hard taskmaster. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The history of today. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Adolf Hitler in uniform. (Bettmann/Getty Images)

The Third Reich’s nuclear programme: Churchill’s greatest wartime fear. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A Pompeii mural depicting a slave, in the Naples Museum. (Photo by Sites & Photos/Capture Ltd/ Alamy Stock Photo)

In Ancient Rome, what was the law of the twelve tables?

A compilation of compass drawn circles, and variants found in many of the churches

Medieval graffiti: the lost voices of England’s churches in the Middle Ages. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The postwar world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Edwin the Scribe. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Unusual things found in medieval manuscripts. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Charlie Chaplin, in a still from his 1936 film 'Modern Times’. (Photo by American Stock/Getty Images)

My history hero: Charlie Chaplin. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.