Sex and love

Sir Lancelot of the Lake and Queen Guinevere seen embracing by King Arthur in a medieval illustration

Tudors in love: what were the dynasty’s romantic secrets?

(Illustration: Clair Rossiter for BBC History Magazine)

Beans, ale & ‘windy meats’: surprising 17th-century aphrodisiacs

A medieval miniature depicts a monk and a woman in a bed.

Sex in the Middle Ages: have attitudes really changed?

A mosaic that shows two Roman women exercising, one holds a flower and another holds a leaf

7 things you (probably) didn’t know about Roman women

An ancient Greek vase depicting sexual intercourse

A brief history of sex and sexuality in Ancient Greece

A set of Tudor faces laid out on playing cards

Why the Tudors fell for courtly love

A portrait of Lady Emma Hamilton

Nelson’s sensational mistress: how Emma Hamilton took Europe by storm

An architectural grotesque of a woman displaying her vulva

How naughty was the past? The hidden depths of the medieval church

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Marguerite Kaye join us to discuss their new historical romance novel, Her Heart for a Compass. (Image from Getty Images)

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, on historical fiction

Fern Riddell

Contraception, consent & erotic connection: sex through history

Colour portrait of Jane Austen (1775–1817) drawn by her sister Cassandra. Dated 1810. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Jane Austen: a guide to her life, books and death – plus 8 fascinating facts

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Portrait of Carlo Broschi (stage name Farinelli), the most famous opera singer of the 18th century. (Photo By DEA/A. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images)

Castrated Georgian opera stars: the stars of the 18th century

Catherine Fletcher discusses what is known about the private life and relationships of the Renaissance polymath, and considers the historical inspirations for the new TV drama Leonardo. (Image by Getty Images)

Leonardo da Vinci’s private life

Drawing of an old and young man, possibly Salai, by Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci’s private relationships: what’s known?