BBC History UK Magazine - December 2022

In this issue

Sparkling signals
Nicola Tallis translates the coded messages sent by Henry VIII’s six wives through their jewellery choices.

Who really found the tomb of Tutankhamun?
Howard Carter is famed for opening the resting place of the boy king – but, as Toby Wilkinson reveals, he didn’t make this discovery on his own.

The history that shaped the Queen’s funeral

People around the world were transfixed by the scale and splendour of Elizabeth II's funeral in September - a ceremony that drew explicitly on centuries of British royal traditions. TRACY BORMAN reveals how such events have changed, yet remained the same, across generations

5 mins

Marching into infamy

RJB Bosworth reveals how the March on Rome which saw Benito Mussolini's Fascist squads seize power a century ago - set Italy on a path to totalitarianism

9 mins

QUEENS OF BLING

When Henry VIII's wives sought to project messages about themselves to the watching world, they often did so via jewellery. Using six portraits, Nicola Tallis reveals how the consorts' choice of pendants, rubies and brooches shaped their public images

6 mins

“She was in the world of change but somehow apart from it”

Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth II remained a constant presence in an era of vast social, technological and geopolitical transformation. Anna Whitelock charts an era in which Britain, but not its queen, changed beyond recognition

9 mins

THE BOY WHO DISCOVERED THE BOY KING

When Howard Carter located the entrance to Tutankhamun's tomb, he became an archaeological hero. Yet, as Toby Wilkinson reveals, the British Egyptologist failed to credit the person behind the historic find

10 mins

A DYNASTY OF DESPOTS

From the colossal to Tutankhamun's temples of Luxor golden death mask, the pharaohs of ancient Egypt's golden age created some of history's greatest treasures. Yet, writes Guy de la Bédoyère, behind the glittering facade lay a society built on brutality, inequality and staggering levels of corruption

10+ mins

Writing for her life

Marie Antoinette spent much of her reign engaged in a battle: first to cement her position as queen of France, and then to avoid the guillotine. Catriona Seth uses the queen's letters to trace her desperate bid for survival

10+ mins

“What unites these commanders Is selt-beliet. It they didn't have faith in themselves, no one else would”

AL MURRAY tells Spencer Mizen about his new book profiling 10 military leaders whose experiences shine a light on the Allies’ extraordinary transformation in the Second World War

9 mins

Power behind the throne

KATIA WRIGHT is entertained and (mostly) impressed by a book examining the lives and influence of five English queens of the 14th century

3 mins

Past tense, future perfect?

PATRICIA FARA lauds a detailed double biography of grandfather-and-grandson thinkers whose ideas on evolution were both influential and inflammatory

2 mins

Ruins and royalty

Surrounded by verdant Suffolk countryside, Bury St Edmunds rose to prominence as a pilgrim hotspot in the Anglo-Saxon era before its fortunes dipped during the Dissolution. RHIANNON DAVIES pays a visit

3 mins

Noor Inayat Khan 1914-44

MY HISTORY HERO Actor and TV presenter Sam Naz chooses

2 mins

Read all stories from BBC History UK

BBC History UK Magazine Description:

BBC History Magazine is Britain’s bestselling history magazine devoted to history enthusiasts of all levels of knowledge and interest. Published 13 times a year, BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world’s leading historians and journalists. Whether it is the history of our politics and institutions, or the fascinating stories of our private lives through the ages, BBC History Magazine sheds new light on the past and helps make more sense of today’s world.Covering the latest new developments in history and archaeology from Britain and around the world, the latest, most thought provoking historical research and strong links with TV and radio programming maximizing use of BBC’s existing expertise in the genre.