People

15–54

Caratacus was a British ruler, probably of the Catuvellauni, who led resistance to the Roman invasion begun in AD 43. After defeats in south-eastern Britain he […]

9 series · 35 books

994–1035

Cnut the Great was the Danish conqueror who became king of England, Denmark and Norway. After defeating Edmund Ironside, he built a North Sea empire and […]

5 series · 35 books

1095–1154

Stephen seized the English throne in 1135 after the death of his uncle Henry I, despite an oath to support Henry’s daughter Matilda. His reign descended […]

8 series · 35 books

1874–1965

Winston Churchill was British prime minister during most of the Second World War and again in the 1950s. His wartime leadership, speeches, imperial views and long […]

15 series · 35 books

1340–1399

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, was the third surviving son of Edward III and one of the wealthiest magnates in medieval Europe. He commanded armies […]

4 series · 34 books

1166–1216

John became king of England in 1199 after the death of Richard I. He lost Normandy and most other French possessions, quarrelled with Pope Innocent III […]

16 series · 33 books

64 BCE–14

Augustus, born Gaius Octavius, was Julius Caesar’s adopted heir and the founder of the Roman principate. After defeating Caesar’s assassins and then his former ally Mark […]

16 series · 32 books

1284–1327

Edward II was king of England from 1307 to 1327. His reign was dominated by conflict with powerful nobles, military failure against Scotland, dependence on favourites […]

11 series · 32 books

972–1020

Leif Erikson was a Norse explorer associated with the first known European settlement in North America. The Icelandic sagas describe voyages from Greenland to Vinland around […]

3 series · 32 books

1630–1685

Charles II was king of England, Scotland and Ireland from the Restoration in 1660 until 1685. After years of exile following his father’s execution, he returned […]

8 series · 31 books