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  1. Blackleaf

    Pope's UK visit: Girl who met John Paul II in 1982 to meet Benedict XVI on Thursday

    When Pope John Paul II visited Britain in 1982 an eight-year-old disabled girl was carried by her mother to receive communion. Now, 28 years later, the girl is to make history again by meeting Pope Benedict XVI during his visit later this week. Rosemarie Stevenson, now 37 and from Glasgow...
  2. Blackleaf

    Where history happened: The Wars of the Roses

    In the second half of the 15th Century, civil war broke out in England when two of the three branches of the Plantagenet Royal Dynasty fought for the throne of England. The three branches of the Plantagenet Royal Dynasty were the Lancastrians, the Yorkists and the Angevins. The name...
  3. Blackleaf

    David Cameron's father dies in France after suffering a stroke while on holiday

    In the space of just two weeks, British Prime Minister David Cameron has gone from joy to despair. Two weeks ago he became a father for the fourth time when his wife Samantha gave birth, three weeks early, to Florence whilst they were on holiday in Cornwall. But today David Cameron's father...
  4. Blackleaf

    70 years on, veterans of the Blitz gather to remember start of their darkest hour

    Yesterday, 70 years on to the day since the start of the Blitz, RAF veterans who bravely sacrificed their lives during the Blitz to repel Hitler's airforce gathered at St Paul's Cathedral in central London to commemorate the anniversary. Joining them at the ceremony were firefighters, nurses...
  5. Blackleaf

    The startling images that merge the horror of WWII bombings with modern-day Britain

    As Britain commemorates the 70th anniversary of The Blitz, when the Luftwaffe shamefully killed over 43,000 civilians - half of them in London - by bombing British cities, these clever photographs help to merge the horror of Blitz-torn British cities with how they look today. One image...
  6. Blackleaf

    Prince William strikes up partnership with Great Escape hero

    Prince William has struck up a friendship with the last British survivor of the Great Escape. Ken Rees, 90, secured his place in history when he helped build the tunnel in Stalag Luft III, through which 76 Allied airmen briefly escaped. The family of Ken, of Rhosneigr in north Wales, heard...
  7. Blackleaf

    Lord Nelson's first ever medal set to fetch £500,000

    A medal awarded to Horatio Nelson after the Battle of Cape St Vincent is to fetch £500,000 at auction. The 1797 battle, fought during the French Revolutionary Wars, was fought in the Caribbean and saw British hero Nelson defy orders by bravely allowing his ship, HMS Captain, leave the Royal...
  8. Blackleaf

    My wife the Queen: Prince Philip reveals his hidden talent for painting

    Rarely has Queen Elizabeth II been captured in such informal a pose. This behind-the-scenes painting captures the long-reigning and popular monarch sitting at the breakfast table at Windsor Castle reading a paper, with a fresh loaf of bread and a pot of marmalade in front of her. And who was...
  9. Blackleaf

    Scientists recreate warts-and-all 'image' of Shakespeare

    It was Oliver Cromwell who coined the phrase "warts and all". England's Lord Protector had warts on his face and early portraits of him depict him in a flattering light, without the warts. That was until Cromwell told a painter to paint him with as much accuracy as possible, "warts and all."...
  10. Blackleaf

    DPM Clegg: Be brave ... like Our Boys

    Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, running the country whilst David Cameron takes two weeks off for paternity leave after his two week holiday in which his wife gave birth (thank God fathers in Britain don't get 16 months off like they do in some other European nations), visited Afghanistan...
  11. Blackleaf

    Dry UK weather reveals hundreds of archaeological sites left buried for centuries

    Britain is so saturated with history that even certain weather conditions can reveal ancient artefacts that hardly anybody, or nobody at all, had known about. Thanks to the dry weather Britain is currently experiencing, hundreds of archaeological sites that have been left buried for centuries...
  12. Blackleaf

    Britannia rules the skies: Magical moment cloud takes on shape of our islands

    It's quite common to see shapes in clouds. But it's not very common to see the intricate shapes of countries. Denny Small of Newcastle looked up into the sky and saw the unmistakeable map of the British Isles formed by a group of clouds. The only flaw in the design was that Wales was missed...
  13. Blackleaf

    WWII radio continues to pick up vintage broadcasts despite not having any power

    A 70-year-old radio at a former RAF base in Scotland is picking up broadcasts from the 1940s despite not having any power. The Pye wireless plays music from Glen Miller and speeches from Winston Churchill. Montrose Air Station in Angus became Britain's first operational military airfield when...
  14. Blackleaf

    The Stig is unmasked as Ben Collins as BBC loses court battle

    The Stig, one of the stars of the cult BBC series Top Gear, has been unmasked as 35-year-old Ben Collins. The BBC took legal action to prevent the publication of The Stig's new autobiography in which the racing driver reveals his identity. But today the BBC lost the battle, allowing The Stig...
  15. Blackleaf

    Getting shirty! England supporters angry as yet another new kit is unveiled

    Despite England just having what statistics show was their worst ever World Cup, the morale in the team at a low, half the players missing through injury and a manager fighting to stay in his job, the FA still thought it was a good time to launch yet another new England home kit. England's...
  16. Blackleaf

    British newspaper shames Germany and wins justice on Nazi fiend

    The actions of a British newspaper has meant that a Nazi World War II criminal spends facing the rest of his life in prison. In July, a journalist from The Sun, Britain's biggest-selling newspaper, found Dutch-born SS executioner Klaas Faber, 88, strolling around a German park with his wife...
  17. Blackleaf

    Hundreds of thousands descend on Notting Hill for Europe's biggest carnival

    Hundreds of thousands of revellers today descended on Notting Hill in west London for Europe's biggest street festival - the Notting Hill carnival. The carnival has been held each August Bank Holiday since the glorious summer of 1966, when the people of England really had an excuse to hit the...
  18. Blackleaf

    Cricket: Pakistan are booed off amidst allegations of match-fixing against England

    Pakistan were booed off the pitch by their own fans at Lord's today amidst match-fixing allegations in the Fourth Test against England. The team's captain Salman Butt, bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif and wicket keeper Kamran Akmal have all been questioned by Scotland Yard. Mazhar...
  19. Blackleaf

    The home of Rome's legendary Ninth Legion is found in Yorkshire

    Rome's legendary Ninth Hispanic Legion - one of the oldest and most feared legions in the Roman Empire - mysteriously vanished in 108AD never to be seen again (and it may have been the Britons who were responsible). Now, whilst a road was being upgraded in the area, archaeologists have...
  20. Blackleaf

    First pictures of baby Florence Cameron are released

    The first pictures of the British Prime Minister's baby daughter have been released. Little Florence was born around midday, British time, on Tuesday at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro. David Cameron and his wife Samantha were on holiday in the seaside county when Samantha gave birth a...