Sex and love

Philip Augustus of France (left) and Richard I of England

Medieval masculinity What Richard I can tell us about male friendship in the Middle Ages

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Penrhyn Castle, Gwynedd, Wales. (Photo by Getty Images)

Tales of romance The historical love stories behind 5 British castles . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Love Letter, 1834.

General History

How to write a love letter 6 tips from the historical figures who did it best

Sat in his Spitfire adorned with Figaro the Cat is decorated Second World War fighter pilot Ian Gleed, who had to hide his homosexuality (Photo by Royal Air Force Official Photographer/ Imperial War Museums via Getty Images)

Second World War

Hiding in plain sight The prejudice and tolerance of homosexuality in WW2 armed forces

American actress Charlotte Cushman and Matilda Hayes

How Georgian and Victorian same-sex couples co-opted marital traditions and made them their own

The queen – dressed in dark clothing – stands up from a table to deliver a speech

Annus Horribilis What happened in the Queen’s horrible year?

James VI of Scotland (later also James I of England and Ireland) and his young wife, Anna of Denmark

The honeymoon of James VI and Anna of Denmark

Reverend Spencer Parsons, head of the Chicago branch of the Clergy Consultation Service (CCS), an interfaith group dedicated to helping women obtain abortions before 'Roe v Wade'

The American clergy who helped women get abortions before Roe v Wade

Dakota Johnson stars as Anne Elliot in Netflix's 2022 adaptation of Persuasion, the final completed novel by Jane Austen

Persuasion “The essence and spirit of Austen’s work are fundamentally changed”

A portrait of King Henry VIII

Henry VIII The life and rule of the Tudor king, plus 5 surprising facts

A Maria Spilsbury painting of a group sat at a drawing room table

Regency romance and a real-life Anne Elliot

Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù as Mr Malcolm and Freida Pinto as Selina Dalton in Mr Malcolm's List

What was on Mr. Malcolm’s List? The real history behind the Regency romance

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Pod Leo Damrosch WL

Casanova: more than a serial seducer . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Diane de Poitiers. As the mistress of Henry II of France, she had incredible and indescribable influence over the French king.

The French royal mistresses who made it about more than sex

Princess Elizabeth and Thomas Seymour, who may have abused the young princess

Did Thomas Seymour sexually abuse the teenage Princess Elizabeth?