Hadley Meares

Royal brothers and sisters have squabbled through the ages—often leading to war.

Though their stories are sometimes overlooked, these women were instrumental in the fight for equal rights for African Americans.

After the French Revolution, eight-year-old Louis XVII was taken to prison and never seen in public again.

Why Queen Elizabeth I signed a death warrant to execute the rival royal cousin she'd never met.

Hundreds of people, including several university scientists, witnessed the flying blue-green lights in August 1951. One person even took photos.

The palace with more than 2,000 rooms featured elaborate gardens, fountains, a private zoo, roman-style baths and even 18th-century elevators.

Among the adventuresses: a swashbuckling pirate, a medieval crusader and pioneering space traveler.

For centuries, people have had unusual fixations with new materials.

European royals did not trust the portraits sent to them by other courts, so they commissioned their own.

Women around the world have fought against oppressive regimes, either with the pen, the podium or their very own fists.

Belva Lockwood not only ran for president—twice—she was also the first female lawyer to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Inside the unhappy reign of Sisi, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary.

These striking images changed how rulers were seen—and not always for the better.

Marriage to a royal consort has not always been the fairytale we believe it to be.

British aristocrats often went broke after royal visits.

Think royal births are a spectacle now? Marie Antoinette would beg to differ.

Filthy residences forced European monarchs to constantly move their courts.

James I, Charles I and Charles II of the Stuart dynasty were known for their excesses.

Elizabeth I, for one, was known to drink from a unicorn horn cup, believing that if poison touched it, it would explode.

The idea was to show the royal family in their day-to-day lives. The results were mixed.