The History of England Magazine

It’s a cliché that it takes a lot to rouse the reserved, polite British to action, but during the long hot summer of 1858 it was clear that the time for talking was over. The Mother of Parliaments was deeply offended by the poor personal hygiene of her neighbour, Old Father Thames…

The famous raid against the gathering armada of ships in the Spanish port of Cádiz became known as ‘the singeing of the King of Spain’s beard’…

According to the British chronicles, their ancient kings are descended from Brutus the Trojan, great grandson of Aeneas of Troy who survived the Trojan War and led his people into exile, to found a new Troy…

Famous for his victory against the French at the Battle of Agincourt and immortalised in literature by William Shakespeare, King Henry V was one of the great warrior kings of medieval England…

Did the legendary King Arthur exist? Is there any documentary evidence to support the story of Arthur and his Camelot?

In 978 a young English king was assassinated, less than three years into his reign. That king would become known as Edward the Martyr…

A skeleton discovered in a car park in Leicester in 2013 displayed spinal curvature as well as evidence of a violent death. Were these the remains of Richard III, the last Plantagenet king who was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field? Luckily, isotopic analysis was on hand to help resolve this issue…

In 865, a sizeable Viking force – estimated to be around some 3,000 men – landed on the Isle of Thanet in Kent with the intention of seizing England…