BBC History UK Magazine - March 2024

In this issue

Elizabeth v Mary
Nicola Tallis chronicles the sibling rivalry that soured the relationship between these two Tudor queens.

Knights! Camera! Action!
Robert Bartlett dissects Hollywood’s longstanding obsession with movies inspired by the Middle Ages..

ANNIVERSARIES

DANNY BIRD highlights events that took place in March in history

5 mins

"From Africa to the Indian subcontinent, imperialism has left a trail of damage"

MICHAEL WOOD ON...THE BANGLADESH LIBERATION WAR

3 mins

"Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families"

HIDDEN HISTORIES... KAVITA PURI on the legacy of Canada's residential schools

3 mins

SISTERS AT WAR

By the end of her reign, Mary I's relationship with her half-sister and successor, Elizabeth, was at an all-time low. But had the Tudor siblings always been such bitter enemies? Nicola Tallis reveals how the duo's bond was both broken and strengthened by events beyond their control

9 mins

THE GREAT WHEELBARROW CRAZE

In 1886, the nation was gripped by a bizarre trend that saw plucky Britons racing wheelbarrows across the country. David Musgrove takes up this strange-but-true story

8 mins

FIVE THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT...The Vikings

Ryan Lavelle, who is teaching our new History Extra Academy course, shares five surprising facts about the raiders, pirates and traders from medieval Scandinavia

4 mins

KNIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!

From the heroic glamour of Henry V to the heady nationalism of Braveheart, the medieval era has proven a rich source of material for film directors. Robert Bartlett charts Hollywood's long obsession with the Middle Ages

10+ mins

WHO SHOT JFK? WAS ELIZABETH I A MAN? DID ALIENS LAND AT ROSWELL?

Rob Attar investigates the enduring power of conspiracy theories

10 mins

"People began collapsing in the streets and dying on the pavements"

In 1943, a devastating famine claimed the lives of millions of people in the Indian province of Bengal. Kavita Puri (left) tells us why she's keen to ensure that the stories of those who endured the crisis are not forgotten

10+ mins

THE ANCIENT WORLD'S GREATEST CITY

When Alexander the Great founded a settlement at the junction of three continents in 331 BC, he created a metropolitan powerhouse that would shape global history. Islam Issa hails the genius of ancient Alexandria

10 mins

"There was a general perception that Queen Victoria's mourning was neither normal nor acceptable”

JUDITH FLANDERS talks to Rebecca Franks about her new book, which delves into the customs surrounding dying, death and mourning in Victorian Britain

10 mins

A window onto England's soul

SARAH FOOT has high praise for a book that traces the evolution of English Christianity over the course of 1400 years, through the lives of its greatest thinkers

4 mins

Ghosts of Germany's past

KATJA HOYER is impressed by a study of a nation's attempts to grapple with the crimes it perpetrated during the Second World War

2 mins

The 'badass' icon

One of the problems with biography, if an author is not careful, is that it can quickly become hagiography.

1 min

The power of the few

Subhadra Das's first book catches two particular waves in current publishing.

2 mins

Goodbye to the gilded age

JOHN JACOB WOOLF is won over by an exploration of the Edwardian era, which looks beyond the golden-era cliché to find a nation beset by a sense of unease

2 mins

Eighteenth-century mushroom ketchup

ELEANOR BARNETT shares her instructions for making a flavourful sauce with roots in south-east Asia

3 mins

The Aztecs at war

RHIANNON DAVIES discovers why war was so important to the Mesoamerican people - and why they believed a badly cooked meal could prevent a soldier from shooting straight

1 min

Towering achievement

NATHEN AMIN explores a 13th-century stronghold that was built to subdue independent-minded Welsh people, yet has since become a symbol of courage in the face of overwhelming odds

2 mins

Lisbon in five places

From Roman colony to imperial epicentre, Portugal's capital has played many roles. BARRY HATTON highlights five sites that reveal the city's past and present glories

3 mins

Read all stories from BBC History UK

BBC History UK Magazine Description:

BBC History Magazine is Britain’s bestselling history magazine devoted to history enthusiasts of all levels of knowledge and interest. Published 13 times a year, BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world’s leading historians and journalists. Whether it is the history of our politics and institutions, or the fascinating stories of our private lives through the ages, BBC History Magazine sheds new light on the past and helps make more sense of today’s world.Covering the latest new developments in history and archaeology from Britain and around the world, the latest, most thought provoking historical research and strong links with TV and radio programming maximizing use of BBC’s existing expertise in the genre.