Illustration of a couple

Sex and love

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

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 VIIIThe 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