History Logo
ShowsThis Day In HistoryScheduleTopicsStories
  • History Classics
  • Live TV
  • Your Profile
Your Profile
History
  • Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window)
Email Updates
  • Live TV
  • History Classics
  • Shows
  • This Day In History
  • Schedule
  • Topics
  • Stories
  • Videos
  • History Podcasts
  • History Vault
  • Shop
  • History Travel

Royalty

Topics

See All

An 1883 painting of Queen Victoria (1819 - 1901), taken from an 1882 photograph by Alexander Bassano. Behind the queen is a portrait of her deceased consort, Prince Albert, by German artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter, and the box beside her is labelled 'First Lord of the Treasury'.

Featured

Queen Victoria

Early Life and Ascension to the Throne Alexandrina Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, at London’s Kensington Palace to Edward, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of King George III, and his wife, Princess Maria Louisa Victoria, who was of German descent. Named for her godfather, Russian Tsar Alexander I, she was fifth in […]

Read moreRead more about Queen Victoria
Marie Antoinette At The ConciergerieMarie Antoinette at the Conciergerie. Private Collection. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Marie-Antoinette

Marie Antoinette: Early Life Marie Antoinette, the 15th child of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and the powerful Habsburg empress Maria Theresa, was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1755–an age of great instability for European monarchies. In 1766, as a way to cement the relatively new alliance between the French and Habsburg thrones, Maria Theresa […]

Read more
Mary Tudor (1516 - 1558), the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, at the age of 28. Following the death of her half-brother Edward VI and the brief rule of Lady Jane Grey, she ascended to the English throne as Queen Mary I in 1553.

Mary I

Mary I: Early Life Mary Tudor was born on February 16, 1516. She was the fifth child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon but the only one to survive past infancy. Educated by an English tutor with written instructions from the Spanish humanist Juan Luis Vives, she excelled in Latin and, like her father, […]

Read more
HISTORY: Henry VIII

Henry VIII

Early Life Henry was born in Greenwich, England, on June 28, 1491, the second son of Henry VII, the first English ruler from the House of Tudor. While his older brother Arthur was being prepared for the throne, Henry was steered toward a church career, with a broad education in theology, music, languages, poetry and […]

Read more

Stories

See All

Henry VIIIs Hampton Court

Featured

Naked Cooks, Excrement, Rats: The Secretly Disgusting History of Royal Palaces

Filthy residences forced European monarchs to constantly move their courts.

Read moreRead more about Naked Cooks, Excrement, Rats: The Secretly Disgusting History of Royal Palaces
Charles of Orleans, with his third wife Marie of Cleves

History’s Oldest-Known Valentine Was Written in Prison

A French medieval duke wrote the poem to his wife while he was held captive in the Tower of London.

Read more
Marion Crawford: The Governess Who Spilled the Queen's Secrets

The Governess Who Spilled the Queen’s Secrets

Crawfie’s revelations titillated a nation—but she paid the price.

Read more
Reclining Dress Impression with Drapery, a sculpture by Karen LaMonte.

The Delusion That Made Nobles Think Their Bodies Were Made of Glass

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

Read more

This Day in History

See All

1536

Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, is executed

European History
2011

Britain’s Prince William weds Kate Middleton

European History
1937

Duke of Windsor weds American socialite

European History
1992

Separation of Charles and Diana announced

European History
1606

The death of Guy Fawkes

European History
1568

Mary Queen of Scots defeated

European History
A+E NetworksOur Family of Brands
  • History Education
  • History Vault
  • Mobile/Apps
  • News
  • Shop
  • Share Your Opinion
Follow History
  • d
  • e
  • p
  • m
  • +
  • Biography
  • Crime and Investigation
  • History en Espanol
  • LRW
  • Military History
  • Ad Choices
  • Advertise WIth Us
  • Accessibility Support
  • Copyright Policy
  • Corporate Information
  • Employment Opportunities
  • FAQ/Contact Us
  • Privacy Notice
  • Cookie Notice
  • Terms Of Use
  • TV Parental Guidelines
  • Contact Us
  • Copyright Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Ad Choices
  • Accessibility Support

© 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.