Sex and love

An architectural grotesque of a woman displaying her vulva

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

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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 . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Fern Riddell

Contraception, consent & erotic connection: sex through history . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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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FernRiddell_VL_Video 620x413

Fern Riddell Sex: Lessons from History . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

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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 . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

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

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The bigamy trial that scandalised Georgian England . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Nell Gwyn was a mistress of King Charles II

Nell Gywn The orange girl who became a king's mistress in Restoration England

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Broadcaster and author Cathy Newman shares stories of duos that changed the course of history. (Image by Getty Images)

Rivalries and romances: couples that shook up history . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An Athenian red-figure kylix (cup) dating from around 510–500 BC depicts a young pentathlete pulling his older lover towards him for a kiss. In many of the city-states of ancient Greece, sex between a man and a youth was an accepted – even idealised – form of love, its virtues extolled in works by writers including Plato. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Pride and prejudice: same-sex relations through history

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Historian Carol Dyhouse talks about how women's lives, dreams and loves have transformed in the decades since 1950, from the advent of the pill to the impact of second-wave feminism. (Image by Alamy)

Sex, romance and rights: women’s lives since 1950 . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, pictured in 1854. (Photo by Roger Fenton/Roger Fenton/Getty Images)

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert: what was their relationship like?

An account of the story of James Allen, whose sex at birth was revealed only by an autopsy conducted after their death

‘Female husbands’: the secret lives of 18th-century transgender pioneers