The Latest Breaking News from Henry VIII

Non-stop coitus, controversial nudity and shocking sex toys: steamy scenes in costume dramas have changed since Colin Firth got his shirt wet in Pride and Prejudice. Here is an outrageous history of small-screen sauciness

Sweeping dramas set in days of yore are everywhere. But which are some of the finest television ever created? And which are little more than an excuse to show naked backsides?

How many of these royal facts will actually surprise you?

More than 100 men stormed Bayham Abbey, near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, with makeshift weapons, in protest at its closure as part of religious reforms.

Prof Aaron Koller hopes to broaden appeal of Hebrew and move away from it being seen as ‘a political thing’

Is loneliness a modern epidemic as we are so often told? Did people in the past suffer similar feelings of isolation?

‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and The Light’ was up against ‘Blue Lights’, ‘Supacell’ and ‘Sherwood’ for Best Drama at Sunday night’s event

Alicia Vikander speaks with The Independent’s Jacob Stolworthy about new film Firebrand, a historical drama directed by Karim Aïnouz. Set during the tumultuous final years of Henry VIII’s (Jude Law) reign, the film focuses on Catherine Parr (Alicia Vikander), his sixth and final wife. In this interview Vikander discusses working…

‘I thought only kings like Henry VIII got gout’ joked Gibson