Sex and love

The real Mary Boleyn remains an elusive Tudor personality, flitting in and out of the sources, says historian Lauren Mackay. (Image by Alamy)

Your guide to Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn

Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII. National Portrait Gallery, London. (Photo by PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)

The lost heirs of Henry VIII: Alison Weir on Katherine of Aragon’s failed pregnancies

Portrait of Catherine of Aragon

Catherine of Aragon: Spain’s Virgin queen?

The Spanish Princess Part II. (Image by Starz)

The real history behind The Spanish Princess

Portrait of Catherine of Aragon

Your guide to Catherine of Aragon: Henry VIII’s first wife and mother of Mary I

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor playing Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII in the 1963 film, Cleopatra. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

7 of the most memorable couples in history

c1954: A photo-fiction serial telling the story of a young couple on honeymoon in the South of France. The parts are played by actors Mark Hashfield and Simone Lovell. (Photo by Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of honeymoons (and how the post-wedding holiday got its name)

The eyes of American actress Gene Tierney. (Photo via John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images)

The history of seduction

Athenian red-figure cup showing a seated man with a naked boy in the inside tondo, 470 BC

What was pederasty in ancient Greece?

Top, left to right: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour. Bottom, left to right: Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Katherine Parr.

Henry VIII’s six wives: your guide to the Tudor king’s queen consorts

The Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies (Public Domain)

The real Harlots: Hallie Rubenhold on Covent Garden’s courtesans

Half-sisters and daughters of Henry VIII: Mary Tudor (left) and Elizabeth I, who both reigned as queen of England. (Photos by Getty Images)

Did Elizabeth I and her half-sister, Mary Tudor, have a good relationship? Historian Tracy Borman explains

Holbein's portrait of Henry VIII

Henry VIII’s wives quiz: how well do you know the six women he married?

Portrait of Catherine Howard

11 facts about Catherine Howard

Colour portrait of Jane Austen

A brief guide to Jane Austen, plus 8 things you (probably) didn’t know about her