Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
By Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498–1543), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
It was a bitter moment for Anne Boleyn when she saw that what she herself had done to poor Catherine of Aragon, Jane Seymour was about to do to her.
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By George Hayter (1792–1871), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
When King George IV tried to divorce Queen Caroline with maximum embarrassment, her barrister warned that two could play at that game.
James Lonsdale (1777–1839), via the National Portrait Gallery and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: ? Public domain.
Facing defeat at the General Election of 1812, Henry Brougham stood before the voters of Liverpool and made a spirited defence of liberty’s record.
By Michael Angelo Hayes (1820-1877), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
In 1840, Secretary at War Thomas Macaulay treated the Union Jack like a bully’s visiting card, but backbencher William Gladstone believed it deserved better.
Rundle Burges Watson (1809-1860), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
In 1840, the British Government declared war on the Chinese Empire over their harsh treatment of drug smugglers from Bengal.
By Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641), via wikimedia Commons. Licence: public domain.
Seventeenth-century poet and statesman Edmund Waller reflects on the benefits of advancing years.