British History

David Bowie in the dress he wore on the cover of The Man Who Sold the World

Have You Seen This David Bowie Dress? A London Museum Is Looking For It

The Museum of London Docklands is hoping to locate lost garments for an exhibition on Jewish fashion designers

An illustration of Charles Byrne, whose bones were displayed at the Hunterian Museum in London for some 200 years

Why a London Museum Is Removing the Skeleton of an 'Irish Giant' From View

Charles Byrne asked for his body to be buried at sea. Instead, an anatomist bought his bones and displayed them to the public

L to R: Andrew Carnegie, Elizabeth I, Henry VIII and Henry Ford

The Tudor Roots of Modern Billionaires' Philanthropy

The debate over how to manage the wealthy's fortunes after their deaths traces its roots to Henry VIII and Elizabeth I

A painting of Diana by British portraitist Douglas Hardinge Anderson, now hanging at the Royal Marsden Hospital

Princess Diana's Iconic Velvet Gown Is Going Up For Auction

The late princess wore the dress on several occasions throughout the '90s

After the American Revolution, why did the colonies keep their British nobility namesakes?

Why Did the American Colonies Keep Their British Names After the Revolution?

You've got questions. We've got experts

Pope Francis with Archbishop Ieronymos II in 2021

Pope Francis Will Return Parthenon Sculptures to Greece

The fifth-century B.C.E. artifacts have been at the Vatican Museum for 200 years

Egyptologist Zahi Hawass is leading a push to repatriate the Rosetta Stone, the Dendera Zodiac and the bust of Nefertiti to Egypt.

History of Now

Who Gets to Tell the Story of Ancient Egypt?

On the eve of the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, some of the country's artifacts, from the Rosetta Stone to the bust of Nefertiti, remain overseas

A photo of the necklace discovered in England, alongside a depiction of what it may have once looked like

Cool Finds

Necklace Unearthed in Medieval Woman’s Grave Is a 'Once-in-a-Lifetime Discovery'

Researchers say the woman may have been an early Christian leader with a large fortune

Researchers made the find while studying the MS Selden Supra 30, a version of the New Testament’s Acts of the Apostles written in Latin.

Cool Finds

Woman’s Name and Doodles Found Hidden in 1,200-Year-Old Religious Manuscript

The name may point to an abbess who lived in Kent at a time when few women could read or write

Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap has been running at London's West End since 1952.

Agatha Christie's 'The Mousetrap' Is Coming to Broadway

After 70 years in London, the beloved murder mystery is finally heading to the Great White Way

Inside the wedding ring's band is an inscription in French that translates to "I hold your faith, hold mine.”

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorist Finds Medieval Wedding Ring in Near-Perfect Condition

Discovered five inches underground, the rare 14th-century artifact could sell for $47,000

J. Edgar Hoover (second from left) stands behind Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the president signs a bill in 1934.

How World War II Helped Forge the Modern FBI

Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, J. Edgar Hoover consolidated immense power—and created the beginnings of the surveillance state

Prince Charles and Princess Diana in South Korea in November 1992, shortly before they officially separated

Based on a True Story

Why 1992 Was Such a 'Horrible Year' for Elizabeth II and the Royal Family

The fifth season of "The Crown" explores the dissolution of Charles and Diana's marriage, a catastrophic fire and other Windsor tragedies

The burial chamber of King Tut's tomb

How Howard Carter Discovered King Tut's Golden Tomb

A hundred years after the legendary find, archival records tell the definitive story of the dig that changed the world

Twentieth-century porcelain dolls made by German company Armand Marseille

How Porcelain Dolls Became the Ultimate Victorian Status Symbol

Class-obsessed consumers found the cold, hard and highly breakable figurines irresistible

Prince Harry's memoir, Spare, will hit bookshelves on January 10, 2023.

Prince Harry Moves Forward With His Memoir, 'Spare'

The Duke of Sussex's book will hit shelves in January

The Misses Porter (as they were sometimes called) arguably created the modern historical novel, weaving fascinating, romantic tales out of facts and events culled from history books.

The Forgotten Sisters Who Pioneered the Historical Novel

Jane and Anna Maria Porter ruled Britain's literary scene—until male imitators wrote them out of the story

A stained-glass window depicting Empress Matilda's voyage from England to Normandy

Based on a True Story

The Medieval Power Struggle That Inspired HBO's 'House of the Dragon'

The "Game of Thrones" spinoff takes its cue from the Anarchy, a civil war that saw Empress Matilda and Stephen of Blois vying for the English crown

Divers examine an iron anchor believed to come from the British antislavery patrol ship H.M.S. Nimble, which ran afoul of the Florida Keys' sharp reefs in 1827 while chasing the illegal Spanish slaver the Guerrero.

What a Spanish Shipwreck Reveals About the Final Years of the Slave Trade

Forty-one of the 561 enslaved Africans on board the "Guerrero" died when the illegal slave ship sank off the Florida Keys in 1827

From Henry VII’s usurpation of the throne in 1485 to the death of Elizabeth in 1603, Tudor monarchs relied on paintings, sculptures, tapestries and other art forms to legitimize their nascent dynasty.

Why Art Was Such a Powerful Tool for England's Tudor Monarchs

An exhibition at the Met features 100-plus paintings, sculptures, decorative works and objects that testify to the splendor of 16th-century English court

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