In 27 BC, the first granting of the title of emperor was bestowed on Octavian, from whence he was known as Augustus Octavian. During Rome’s imperial period, the emperor ruled over the Roman Empire, known by many titles through the eras. : basileus, caesar, princeps civitatis (‘first citizen’). Emperors often accumulated republican titles, too, such…
Before the Norman Conquest in 1066, England was ruled by a series of powerful queens and queen consorts who left their mark on the country’s history. From Boudica, the warrior queen who led a rebellion against the Romans, to Æthelflæd, who retook the city of Derby from the Vikings, these women played an important role…
Lady Katherine Grey was born on 25 August 1540 to Lady Frances Brandon and Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, at Bradgate Park near Leicester. She was one of three sisters. At various stages, all three of the Grey sisters could argue that they were the heir to the throne of England. Lady Katherine Grey’s…
Old Sarum: thousands of years of history on a huge raised earthworks. Positioned on a hill close to Salisbury, Wiltshire, Old Sarum has a royal castle, palace and cathedral, all contained inside a massive fortification dating back to the Iron Age. It is possibly one of the most unappreciated historic sites in the United Kingdom….
Queen Nefertiti was somewhat of a controversial character in ancient Egypt, loathed and loved by her people. She was both an influential wife and queen during a remarkably polemical as well as wealthy period. She was a crucial player in the religious movement that saw ancient Egyptians worship just the sun god Aten rather than…
Alfred the Great is probably the most famous of the Anglo-Saxon Kings. He was King of Wessex between 871 and 899. Wessex was one of the seven Anglo Saxon Kingdoms. The others being East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Essex, Kent and Sussex. He wasn’t King of England because there were Anglo Saxon Kings in all of…
Who doesn’t love a conspiracy theory? But have you heard of the Blaybourne Conspiracy? You probably haven’t, as there are many more famous conspiracy theories to chase down rabbit holes. Neil Armstrong, or anyone else for that matter, never walked on the moon’s surface. The Olympic sank in the middle of the Atlantic, not the…
Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, is one of the most significant peripheral figures in the court of Henry VIII. She’s often depicted as a scheming, vindictive woman. However, is that actually the case? What is undoubtedly true is that Jane Boleyn is a genuinely tragic figure in English history. Here are some facts about Lady Rochford….
Whether the intrepid pioneer or the innovative voyager, we can thank the men and women who explored the globe over the ages for the world we know today. Without them, who knows where or who we would have been in this world they contributed towards discovering. These men and women were so much more than…
Cleopatra became Pharoah of Egypt when she was just 18. Quite a feat for any teenager, but she was not even ethnically Egyptian, but rather Macedonian and Ptolemaic with Ancient Greek heritage! There is much presumption and assumption around this very accomplished woman of Ancient Egypt, so let’s sift through the sands of an interesting…