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Hartlepool is known by many as the place where a monkey was mistaken for a French spy and hanged. As some of the team behind the hit stage show War Horse launch a play based on the story, BBC News asks whether the hanging actually happened. Was a monkey really hanged in Hartlepool? By Duncan...

The Queen had a secret speech prepared in case World War III broke out, startling papers from 1983 have revealed. During one of the most fraught Cold War periods, the monarch was prepared to address the nation in the event of nuclear conflict. In the script for the hypothetical broadcast...

Researchers say a skull in an Italian museum may have belonged to historian and naval commander Pliny the Elder, who died during the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 after leading evacuation efforts. The Italian city of Pompeii was wiped out when the devastating volcanic eruption struck...

The oldest person in the world who was the last living subject of Queen Victoria and worked for 'masters' on a Caribbean sugar plantation has died aged 117. Violet Mosse Brown died in Jamaica at around 2.30pm yesterday. She became the world's oldest person on April 15 this year at 117...

We must confront the elite’s lies about the killing of Arek Jozwik... A killing in Harlow: the shame of Remainers Brendan O'Neill Editor Spiked We must confront the elite’s lies about the killing of Arek Jozwik. 15 September 2017 207 comments A few days ago, a 16-year-old boy from Harlow...

Over the past centuries, archaeologists have unearthed some extraordinary artifacts that give us a glimpse into human history and help us understand the many secrets of the ancient world. Numerous archaeological expeditions have been undertaken over the years, some of which resulted in...

An expert team will carry out an exhumation to see if a coffin contains the remains of a notorious 18th century clan chief. Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, was a Jacobite sympathiser who nevertheless did deals with enemies of the cause. Nicknamed The Old Fox, he was executed in London for...

The second of the UK's new generation of aircraft carriers, HMS Prince of Wales, has been officially named in a ceremony at Rosyth Naval Dockyard. Prince Charles, who shares a title with the £3bn vessel, watched as his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Rothesay, carried out the duty. The...

A rarely-seen workbook showing how Queen Victoria learned to write Urdu from a cherished Indian servant has gone on public display. The monarch began to take writing lessons from Abdul Karim in 1887. The book is on show at the queen's former residence, Osborne House, Isle of Wight, to...

Thousands of German football fans brought parts of central London to a standstill ahead of their team's Europa League match against Arsenal. Some 20,000 FC Cologne supporters have come to London, and briefly brought the West End to a halt as they marched down Oxford Street. FC Cologne fans...

They were one of the most bloodthirsty tribes on Earth. When the Scythians took to the battlefield, it was claimed the air was so thick with bronze-tipped arrows that the sun was blotted out. Mounted on their lightning-quick horses, they fired volley after volley at their terrified...

Jean-Claude Juncker’s ‘state of the union’ speech dispels the notion that voting Remain would have been a vote to keep things as they are. Remaining in the EU as it now is was not an option on the ballot paper. Voting Remain would have meant being a member of an institution whose leaders...

The remains of a vintage MG roadster have been unearthed by archaeologists excavating a former military site. The 1932 MG J2 was found within a World War Two artillery position during excavations at Larkhill on Salisbury Plain. Vintage car unearthed by archaeologists on Salisbury Plain BBC...

Benedictine monks of the Middle Ages - far from living a cloistered existence - refused abstinence, died in duels and even went off to war, reveals new research. The study found examples of monks teaching works of Catholic controversy in the schools they ran, and illicit Benedictine...

BAE Systems has released a set of images showing its new driverless mini-tanks that could revolutionise warfare. The innovative concept, codenamed Ironclad, could soon work alongside other unmanned aerial and ground vehicles to support troops on the battlefield. The Ironclad tanks can be...

Seven events that happened in this month through history: 7 things that happened in September through history...

Don't say the N-word! Snowflakes "offended" by name of chocolate-covered peanuts Poundland is being pushed to remove a new range of sweets called 'Nutters' over concerns they stigmatise people with mental health problems. The chocolate-covered peanuts - which are reminiscent of M&Ms -...

A 250-metre long fatberg weighing 130 tonnes has been found blocking a sewer. The solid mass of congealed fat, wet wipes, nappies, oil and condoms formed in the Victorian-era tunnel in Whitechapel, London. Thames Water described it as one of the largest it had seen and said it would take three...

An unsettling mystery is unfolding as a number of British coins have been found with Nazi symbols stamped on them. A horrified shopper spotted a swastika on Queen Elizabeth's head on a 50p, in an odd wave of findings the Royal Mint says it is aware of. Some people believe a Second World War...

Britain is the most influential power in Europe and second only to the US around the world, a think tank concludes today. The Henry Jackson Society rejects the ‘doom and gloom’ around Brexit and finds that the UK remains a ‘leading global power nation’. Its report, an ‘Audit of Geopolitical...