BBC History UK
ELIZABETH I'S FORBIDDEN LOVE
In 1579, the queen embarked on a romance with a French duke she affectionately dubbed her “frog”. The pair seemed destined for marriage. Yet, writes Elizabeth Tunstall, the people of England had other ideas...
8 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
FIVE THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT. . .the First World War
Alex Churchill reveals some little-known facts about one of history's deadliest conflicts
3 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
"Freedom and democracy are not to be taken for granted"
To celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, on 5 May prime minister SIR KEIR STARMER hosted a tea party in Downing Street for Second World War veterans, schoolchildren and people with links to the armed forces. Following the event, he spoke to our correspondent York Membery about why marking the anniversary is so important - and the resonances with the current war in Ukraine
4 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Swings and Roundabouts
We all have childhood memories of playgrounds. But what does the evolution of outdoor play in Britain tell us about the experience of being young over the past 200 years? Jon Winder serves up a history of sandpits, bombsites and battles with cars
9 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
Britain goes global
LAUREN WORKING applauds a kaleidoscopic exploration of how James VI & I fuelled Britain's global ambitions, paving the way for the future empire
4 min |
July 2025
BBC History UK
25 thing's we've learned over the past 25 years
To celebrate a quarter-century of BBC History Magazine, we asked 25 expert contributors to nominate the most important historical discoveries and revelations since the publication launched in 2000
3 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
Harry Price
Harry Price was a British ghost-hunter, psychic researcher and author who achieved fame through his investigations into paranormal phenomena and for exposing fraudulent mediums.
2 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
"Africans have been starved of historical figures from their own lands that they can look up to"
PAULA AKPAN speaks to Danny Bird about powerful African woman leaders and the complexities of interrogating historical narratives, colonial biases and these women's own flaws
10 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
Spiked drinks, counterfeit coins and the lodgers from hell
Drugging, fraud, even murder – women couldn't really commit such heinous crimes, could they? Rosalind Crone explores five audacious female-led felonies from the 18th and 19th centuries
8 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
Painting on the precipice
Hans Holbein’s masterwork The Ambassadors is an exquisite portrait of two 16th-century diplomats. But it is also crammed with symbols and hidden messages. Tracy Borman deciphers the clues that betray the turbulence of a fateful year
7 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
"Which historical figures will capture the imagination of a class on a rainy Thursday afternoon?"
History teacher and writer SHALINA PATEL discusses how to make the subject appealing and relevant to a diverse range of students today - and envisages what lessons might look like in 25 years' time
7 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
Flower power
Few 17th-century women could travel the world. But the world could visit them in their gardens. Susannah Lyon-Whaley reveals how exotic plants – from Chinese rhubarb to South American passionfruit – opened new horizons in fashion, food and science
7 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
Who says what and why they say it
DAVID RUNCIMAN is impressed by an exploration of how arguments over free speech are often rooted in a desire to close down dialogue
4 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
"These women transformed his understanding of the world"
Malcolm X became one of the most influential leaders in the US civil rights movement - thanks largely, explains Ashley D Farmer, to the women who shaped his life and ideas
10+ min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
Rome's worst nightmare
When the Spartacus revolt erupted in 73 BC, it exposed a terrifying truth: that the cocksure Roman Republic was nowhere near as invincible as it liked to believe.
10+ min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
The feel of truth
JOSEPH E USCINSKI enjoys an account of a fake report that supposedly exposed a huge conspiracy to wage war in support of the American economy
2 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
Victorian jelly
ELEANOR BARNETT explores the surprisingly long history of quivering, colourful dessert popular with children
3 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England
Henry VIIIs new consort brings the promise of a longed-for son
1 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
Charles Darwin receives a shock in the mail
The naturalist is prompted to go public with his theory
2 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
Few works of 20th-century art have such a distinguished list of past owners
A POSTWAR BABY BOOMER AND A LATE SIXTIES student, in my adult life I naturally grew up optimistic. I believed in progress.
3 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
Samba schools used the carnival to foreground overlooked histories
I WAS RECENTLY IN RIO DE JANEIRO, IN A warehouse on the outskirts of the city, admiring some of the brightly coloured floats that had featured in this year's world-famous carnival. Each spring, just before the start of Lent, hundreds of thousands of people attend the parades in the city's Sambadrome stadium and enjoy watching the floats.
2 min |
June 2025
BBC History UK
"Globalism is ironing out the fabulous texture and diversity of the old world"
COMING FROM INDUSTRIAL MANCHESTER IN the cold, rainy north of England, I have loved the Mediterranean all my life.
3 min |
May 2025
BBC History UK
"Trump's tariffs are dramatic only if you have a short historical memory"
Tariffs and trade wars have hit the headlines in recent months as US president Donald Trump pursues aggressive economic policies. But are they really so unprecedented? FRANK TRENTMANN spoke to Matt Elton about centuries of 'discriminatory taxes'
10 min |
May 2025
BBC History UK
Haile Selassie returns to Ethiopia
The exiled emperor reclaims his throne from Fascist Italy
2 min |
May 2025
BBC History UK
It was the shot heard around the world... But who fired it?
It's 250 years since British troops clashed with American colonists at Lexington and Concord. George Goodwin reveals how one fateful day triggered the American Revolutionary War - and sparked a ferocious race to blame the other side
10 min |
May 2025
BBC History UK
Egypt's grape expectations
To the ancient Egyptians, wine played a pivotal part in mythology, ritual and the natural processes that enabled their survival. Islam Issa explores six key roles it fulfilled in their society over the millennia
7 min |
May 2025
BBC History UK
"We sang, we danced and we all held hands'
It's 80 years since Britain erupted in joy at the news that the war in Europe was over. But how did those who lived through VE Day remember it? With the help of the BBC WW2 People's War archive, John Willis reveals a day of partying, remembrance and continuing sacrifice
10+ min |
May 2025
BBC History UK
SCOTLAND'S SEASON OF THE WITCH
In 16th and 17th-century Scotland, many hundreds of 'witches' were put to death - 10 times the proportion executed in England. Martha McGill asks what drove the killings
10 min |
May 2025
BBC History UK
Stream of consciousness
GOJKO BARJAMOVIC is swept along on a journey into the distant past that inspires questions about how our forebears viewed their place in the human story
2 min |
May 2025
BBC History UK
"Social taboos are violated: a parent must decide which child to feed"
DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, DEATHS related to hunger matched or outnumbered military losses.
2 min |