Illustration of a couple

Sex and love

Portrait of King Edward VII

King Edward VII’s love chairHow did Dirty Bertie’s siège d’amour actually work?

Jason Okundaye (Photo by Damien McFadden)

Jason Okundaye on the Black gay community and its tensions: “The movement has always been a broad church”.

Video podcastHappily ever after? Love and marriage in Austen’s era.

Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton, Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington

Bridgerton: the real history explained

A 19th-century portrait of Lady Caroline Lamb, Anglo-Irish aristocrat, novelist and lover of Lord Byron, by English painter Thomas Phillips (Photo by Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo)

Lady Caroline Lamb: Antonia Fraser on a rule-breaking aristocrat.

Painting of Lord Byron and his Muse

“Mad, bad and dangerous to know”: the scandalous life of Lord Byron

General History

Love and lust: 7 of the most shocking romantic royal scandals from British history

Lothar II vs Theutberga: a marriage scandal that shook the ninth century.

From whipping horses to royal love chairs: the lewd yet luxurious history of high-end erotic furniture.

James VI and I and his favourites, Robert Carr and George Villiers

James VI and I and his favourites: what were their relationships like?

Happily ever after? Love and marriage in Austen's era.

Video podcastLove: a weird & wonderful history.

An image depicting St Valentine

Saint ValentineWho was the patron saint of love and lovers?

Love: a weird & wonderful history.

A Regency parson officiates at a wedding ceremony in a country church, 1820

How to survive a Regency marriage.

The marriage of Napoleon Bonaparte to Habsburg Archduchess Marie-Louise

Napoleon’s other wife: who was Habsburg Archduchess Marie-Louise?

Joséphine de Beauharnais

Joséphine de Beauharnais: how Napoleon's muse became empress of France

Diana and Charles in Canada, 1986

Charles and Diana: a history of their marriage

Portrait of Elizabeth Linley

8 scandals that shocked Georgian Britain

Alicia von Rittberg as Princess Elizabeth in Becoming Elizabeth

Becoming ElizabethThe real history behind the new Tudor drama

Messalina: sex, slander & scandal in imperial Rome.

Composite image of depictions of Queen Cleopatra

The face of Cleopatra: what did she look like, and was she really so beautiful?

A painting depicts Frederica, the bride- to-be of Frederick, Duke of York, meeting in-laws George III and Queen Charlotte for the first time

The scandals that rocked Queen Charlotte's court

(l-r) Blanche, Marguerite and Jeanne of Burgundy, three sisters at the heart of a royal scandal and succession crisis in medieval France (Photos by The Picture Art Collection and ACTIVE MUSEUM / ACTIVE ART / Alamy Stock Photo)

Scandalous sisters: how three French princesses brought down the Capetian dynasty

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

Medieval masculinityWhat Richard I can tell us about male friendship in the Middle Ages.

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

Tales of romanceThe historical love stories behind 5 British castles.

The Love Letter, 1834.

How to write a love letter6 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 sightThe prejudice and tolerance of homosexuality in WW2 armed forces

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

Annus HorribilisWhat 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.