All articles in History
8th February, 2017 in History, Society & Culture
The Duke of Somerset, Scotland and Brexit
For over three hundred years England and Scotland have co-existed peacefully under the common name of Great Britain. But now, with the differing views of their two governments on the outcome of the Brexit vote, the countries face the possibility that their union could be broken….
7th February, 2017 in History, Local & Family History, Trivia & Gift
Quiz: London’s royal history
Do you know where the Crown Jewels are kept? Or which palace is the London home to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge? Test your knowledge of London’s royal history with this exciting quiz written by a professional Blue Badge Guide. Q1. After financing its reconstruction, in…
6th February, 2017 in History, Women in History
The moment Princess Elizabeth became queen
After bidding farewell to Elizabeth and Philip at London Airport on 31 January, the king, queen and Princess Margaret returned to Sandringham. Along with a team of nannies, they were to care for Charles and Anne, while the children’s parents were on tour. Five days later, on 5 Fe…
2nd February, 2017 in History
Being a Scottish monarch is not good for your health
While Robert II, the first Stewart king, lived to seventy four (impressive for the time) following Stewarts did not enjoy such long lives. Authors John and Noreen Hamilton reveal how their deaths were largely matters of ill luck or ill judgement. James I, aged forty two, died in…
1st February, 2017 in Folklore, History
The art of historical storytelling
Kindra Jones (a.k.a. The Lady Knight) brings history to life through costumed interpretation in schools, museums and heritage sites across the UK. Here, she discusses the key to historical storytelling. Stories are powerful. Telling a good story can transport you to any place, an…
19th January, 2017 in Biography & Memoir, History
The execution of Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset
On 22 January 1552 Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, was beheaded at Tower Hill watched by a large crowd. Despite orders from the government for the citizens of London to remain in their homes that morning, a great multitude had gathered to watch the final moments of the ‘Good Du…
18th January, 2017 in History, Society & Culture
10 things you (probably) didn’t know about Burma
2017 marked 75 years since Japan invaded the sovereign state of Burma (the ruling military junta changed its name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989), igniting the longest World War Two campaign fought by British troops. Author Felicity Goodall reveals some little known fact…
16th January, 2017 in History
The royal bed of Henry VII & Elizabeth of York
In the twenty-four years that followed his crushing victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, Henry VII both confirmed and consolidated the Tudor dynasty’s grasp on power by a canny combination of sound finance, tough justice and peace abroad. Above all, however, he marr…
13th January, 2017 in Biography & Memoir, History, Women in History
Queen Elizabeth I: A brief history
Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was born at Greenwich on 7 September 1533, a huge disappointment to her parents, who longed only for a boy. When her mother was executed three years later the little princess was banished from court as an unwanted bastard, but re…
13th January, 2017 in History, Local & Family History, Society & Culture
The last Thames frost fair
February 1814: King George III was on the throne, Tory Lord Liverpool was Prime Minister and the Napoleonic Wars would soon be over. It was also the third coldest winter since 1659, when the Central England Temperature (CET) records began. After weeks of bitter chill, blankets of…
11th January, 2017 in History, Society & Culture
It Could Be Ye: England’s first lottery
The first Elizabethans did not need Camelot to warn them: ‘it probably won’t be you.’ They quickly worked out for themselves that odds of 1 in 16,000 in winning Queen Elizabeth I’s great lottery of 1568 – England’s first – were stacked to high and they abstained en mass…
10th January, 2017 in History, Military, Society & Culture
King Shaka’s Zulu
The Zulu nation was founded by King Shaka kaSenzangakhona (the prefix ka meaning ‘son of’), who reigned from 1816 to 1828, and whose nephew Cetshwayo kaMpande was on the throne in 1879. Outside South Africa Shaka has long enjoyed a reputation as a tyrant, a monster of cruelty who…