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Some 55,000 soldiers were killed and wounded during the Battle of Waterloo, a carnage comparable to the first day of the Somme. A new book written by a surgeon ahead of this summer's 200th anniversary argues that that sacrifice must not be forgotten. Why we must remember the bloody...

The skeletons of a mother and her child buried side-by-side are among those which are to be excavated from an ancient burial ground after being disturbed during construction for London's Crossrail. Archaeologists have started excavating 3,000 skeletons from Bedlam burial ground, which...

A second alleged sex abuse victim who claims he was raped by a member of the IRA has spoken out to criticise how republicans dealt with his case. Paudie McGahon told BBC Spotlight he was subjected to an IRA "kangaroo court" after a Sinn Féin representative was told of the...

The Queen is to officially name the new cruise ship Britannia later. The 3,600-passenger vessel is the largest cruise ship designed for the British holiday market, operator P&O has said. Its home port will be Southampton for the summer months, after being built in Italy at...

Yet another lavish new BBC historical drama. Poldark is a remake of the 1970s BBC series of the same name, based on the Winston Graham novels. Episode 1 of 8 Cornwall, 1783. Ross Poldark returns from fighting the bad guys in the American War of Independence to find his father dead, the...

Hundreds of players have competed in the UK's biggest ever quidditch tournament, playing a sport adapted from the Harry Potter books. Wollaton Hall and Park in Nottingham, known for being used as Wayne Manor in a Batman film, was chosen to host the second British Quidditch Cup...

Commonwealth member states are "guardians of a precious flame", the Queen will say in her Commonwealth Day radio message later. She will also say that what the 53 nations share is more important now than at any point in its history. The broadcast will have the theme of "A...

A man, believed to be a Warmist, spent last night on the roof of the Houses of Parliament. Emergency crews descended on the Palace of Westminster at about 9.15pm on Saturday after the man was seen walking between the buttresses. The 23-year-old was arrested around eight hours later on...

The BBC's brand new, seven-part, historical drama Banished started last night. With Russell Tovey as James Freeman; MyAnna Buring as Elizabeth Quinn; Julian Rhind-Tutt as Tommy Barrett; Joseph Millson as Major Robert Ross (who was the officer in charge of the First Fleet garrison of Royal...

A couple are sitting on a royal treasure after workmen renovating their 16th century cottage in the village of Hanwell, Oxfordshire, unearthed a priceless stone coat of arms – hidden behind tatty wallpaper. The smashed up sculpture could be more than 400 years old and has been linked...

Here, Janine Bryant from the University of Birmingham, who has researched medieval coroners' rolls of three English counties – Warwickshire, London and Bedfordshire – reveals some of the most intriguing causes of death in the medieval period… 5 strange causes of death in the medieval...

A medieval man, who may have been a knight, died from injuries sustained from jousting, marks on his skeleton suggest. The remains were found at Hereford Cathedral and show signs of injury to the right shoulder as well as fractured ribs. Experts said the wounds are all consistent with injuries...

Amateur photographer Martin Le-May, from Essex, has recorded the extraordinary image of a weasel riding on the back of a green woodpecker as it flies through the air. The photograph was taken at Hornchurch Country Park in east London on Monday afternoon. Speaking to BBC...