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England

Elizabeth II on a royal tour of New Zealand in 1953-54

See Hundreds of Garments That Elizabeth II Wore Throughout Her Seven-Decade Reign

A new exhibition at Buckingham Palace will examine the British monarch’s life and legacy using evening gowns, suits and accessories

Roughly a quarter of all the shoes found at Magna are longer than 11.8 inches.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Keep Finding Massive Shoes at an Ancient Roman Fort—and They Have No Idea Why They’re So Big

Discovered near Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, the oversized leather footwear has left researchers puzzled

Thomas More was beheaded on Tower Hill on July 6, 1535. Exactly 490 years later, St. Dunstan's Church in Canterbury, England, announced a proposal to exhume and conserve his skull.

An English Church Wants to Exhume the Skull of Thomas More, Tudor Statesman Beheaded by Henry VIII Nearly 500 Years Ago

The king accused More of treason and ordered his execution in 1535. Now, St. Dunstan’s hopes to conserve the Catholic saint’s remains ahead of the quincentenary of his death

The excavations are taking place at the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula while crews install an elevator to make the landmark more accessible.

Cool Finds

The First Major Excavation at the Tower of London in Three Decades Is Shedding New Light on the Iconic Landmark’s History

Archaeologists have discovered the skeletal remains of at least 25 individuals and possibly as many as 50, as well as various artifacts and architectural remnants

The Stone of Destiny is on display at the Perth Museum in Scotland.

Man Arrested for Trying to Break the Glass Protecting the Stone of Destiny in Scotland

The symbolic artifact, which has been used for centuries during the coronations of Scottish and English monarchs, is on display at the Perth Museum

Artist Charlie Whinney poses for a photo inside the installation he created around a section of the Sycamore Gap tree.

The Largest Section of the Beloved Sycamore Gap Tree Is Going on Display in England

The iconic tree was illegally chopped down in September 2023, but its memory will live on in the form of a new art installation that invites visitors to touch—and even embrace—a piece of its trunk

Archaeologists and volunteers excavating the site in Willersey

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Traces of an Iron Age Settlement and Roman Villa in England

The excavation, which followed the discovery of two Roman swords in 2023, is providing historians with fresh insights into Britain’s ancient history

The mummified remains of an ancient Egyptian woman named Asru have been on display at the Manchester Museum since 1825.

This Museum Is Asking Visitors Whether It Should Continue to Display Mummified Human Remains

The Manchester Museum in England is inviting guests to share feedback on Asru, an ancient Egyptian woman whose body was unwrapped 200 years ago

Participants in the Jane Austen Regency Costumed Parade in Bath, England, in 2017

Jane Austen Never Loved Bath—but Bath Loves Jane Austen. Now, the City Is Exploring Why the Novelist Was So Unhappy There

To celebrate the author’s 250th birthday, a new exhibition spotlights her complicated relationship with the English city where she set parts of “Persuasion” and “Northanger Abbey”

Foster + Partners, the firm selected to design the memorial, plans to build a bridge with a reinforced glass balustrade inspired by the tiara the queen wore on her wedding day.

A New Memorial Will Honor Elizabeth II With a Bridge Inspired by Her Diamond-Studded Wedding Tiara

A British architecture firm has been selected to design the queen’s memorial in London, which will include a translucent bridge that evokes her wedding tiara’s delicate silhouette

Crews were repairing a sinkhole in York, England, when they stumbled upon the remains of a large medieval hospital.

Cool Finds

A Sinkhole Opened Up on a Busy Street in England, Revealing the Remains of a Massive Medieval Hospital

Centuries ago, the site was home to St. Leonard’s Hospital, a sprawling monastic facility that provided care to sick individuals and supplied meals for prisoners at nearby York Castle

The pieces were jumbled together when the building was demolished.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Say They’ve Pieced Together the Ancient Fragments of the ‘World’s Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle’

More than 1,800 years ago, the thousands of pieces formed colorful frescoes that covered the walls of a luxurious villa in Londinium, the precursor to modern-day London

The climate-controlled warehouse is located at the site of the 2012 Summer Olympics in Stratford in east London.

This London Museum Lets You ‘Order’ Objects From Its Vast Collections—and Maybe Even Touch Them

At the new V&A East Storehouse, visitors can get up close and personal with 250,000 historic and culturally significant items spanning 5,000 years of human creativity

The CSS Shenandoah surrendered to the British government in November 1865, after traveling 17,000 miles in just three months in hopes of evading capture by Union warships.

Untold Stories of American History

A Confederate Raider Fired the Final Shots of the Civil War in the Arctic, Two and a Half Months After Robert E. Lee Surrendered

The CSS “Shenandoah” only learned of the Confederacy’s defeat in the summer of 1865. That June, the cruiser’s crew sank 24 American merchant vessels, unaware that the conflict had already ended

The immersive experience includes real-world footage and animations, brought to life by 24 projectors and five interconnected screens.

Explore the History of the Planet With David Attenborough at This New Immersive Experience in London

“Our Story With David Attenborough” at the Natural History Museum is a 50-minute program that explores humankind’s role in the planet’s ongoing story

The Rising Squall, Hot Wells, from St. Vincent's Rock, Bristol, J.M.W. Turner, 1792

Cool Finds

This Long-Lost Landscape Painted by a Teenage J.M.W. Turner Was Found Hiding in Plain Sight

Showcasing the Romantic artist’s early innovations with oil paint, “The Rising Squall” could fetch up to $400,000. Before it was reattributed, it sold for just $506 at auction last year

At the Café (1878), the left-hand side of Manet's abandonded painting of the Brasserie Reichshoffen

Manet Cut This Painting in Half 150 Years Ago. Now, the Two Sides Are Back Together for a Rare Reunion

The two resulting artworks, “At the Café” and “Corner of a Café-Concert,” both bear witness to vibrant social scenes from 19th-century Paris

Divers recovered the watch from Lake Michigan in late 1992.

Pocket Watch Recovered From Lake Michigan’s Deadliest Shipwreck Returns to Owner’s Hometown After 165 Years

The timepiece belonged to Herbert Ingram, a British journalist and politician who died when the “Lady Elgin” sank in 1860. His watch was recovered from the bottom of the lake in 1992

The Brontë children were born near this fireplace, pictured mid-renovation.

You Can Now Visit the Small House Where Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë Were Born

The newly renovated Brontë Birthplace in Bradford, England, was the three sisters’ home until 1820, when the family moved to a nearby parsonage

The Bromeswell Bucket, restored its original form, is on display in the High Hall at Sutton Hoo.

New Research

This Bewildering Byzantine Bucket Stumped Archaeologists for Decades. Now, They’ve Finally Discovered Its Purpose

Fragments of the bucket were first found at England’s Sutton Hoo burial site in 1986. New research has revealed that the 1,500-year-old artifact was probably used as a cremation vessel

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