Alternate history

Explore the what ifs and what might have beens of alternate history

Illustration of King Richard I, on horseback, in the Holy Land, by Henry Justice Ford (Photo by The History Emporium / Alamy Stock Photo)

What if... Richard the Lionheart had recaptured Jerusalem?

A painting of Hannibal leading his men into Italy in 218 BC, seated on top a war elephant (Photo by Peter Horree / Alamy Stock Photo)

What if... Hannibal had taken Rome?

A portrait of a young Queen Victoria from around the time of the first assassination attempt in 1840

What if… Queen Victoria had been assassinated?

CWAXKJ The Battle of Lepanto, the fleet of the Holy League destroys the Turkish fleet near Greece, October 7, 1571

What if... The Ottomans had won at Lepanto in 1571?

King George III (r1760–1820), seen here in his coronation robes, was mentally unfit to rule during the final decade of his life. (Image by Getty Images)

What if… George III hadn't 'lost' the colonies?

The USS West Virginia burns at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941

Second World War

What if… Japan hadn't attacked Pearl Harbor

A manuscript illumination dated c1100 depicting Viking warriors sailing towards Brittany

What if... The Vikings had never left their homelands?

Illustration of the French colonial army departing to fight under Colonel Marchand

What if... Britain and France went to war during the 1898 Fashoda Incident?

Mary, Queen of Scots during her trial at Fotheringhay Castle – where she was also executed for her alleged role in the Babington Plot

What if... The Babington Plot to assassinate Elizabeth I had succeeded?

Antony and Cleopatra meet for the first time

What if... Antony and Cleopatra had won the battle of Actium?

The battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066. Had Harold survived it, William might have found his position untenable because of straightforward logistics, says historian Marc Morris

What if... William the Conquerer had lost at Hastings?

Spy plane photos revealed that missile bases were being built on Cuba, prompting the crisis. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

What if... The Cuban Missile Crisis escalated?

The assassination of Julius Caesar

What if… Julius Caesar had not been assassinated?

Richard III

What if… Richard III had won at Bosworth?

The arrest of Guy Fawkes. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Alternate history: what if… the gunpowder plot had succeeded?