In the heart of Paris, Île de la Cité once featured one of the most majestic palaces of medieval times: The Palais des Rois. Built in the early Middle Ages, only two parts of this grandiose palace remain: The Sainte-Chapelle, the largest and most daring palatial chapel of the time; and the Concie...

You’re probably familiar with Rollo, a main character of the series Vikings. But did you know that he is based on a real-life Viking leader: Rollo?

After years of inquiry, based on a manuscript, you’ll discover, thanks to experts and re-enactments, the epic tale of this forgotten hero, ancestor ...

This programme, produced in collaboration with Historic Royal Palaces and presented by Brenda Emmanus, looks at some of Diana's most celebrated and exquisite dresses, brought together for an exhibition of her clothes at Kensington Palace.

In the heart of the French region of Burgundy, deep in a forest, lies a hidden city that had been dormant for 2,000 years. It’s called Bibracte, the most important oppidum in all of Gaul. That is where the Aedui, a Gallic tribe allied to the Romans, once built a fortified city on top of a mountai...

In the heart of Burgundy, the small town of Cluny holds a secret. The abbey standing tall in the city center is a mere fragment of what the 11th-century Maior Ecclesia once was, the biggest church ever conceived at the time. A feat that was accomplished in less than 70 years.

How were the builde...

Diana: Seven Days that Shook the World examines the aftermath of Princess Diana's tragic death and the dramatic week leading up to her funeral.

Our Queen at War reveals Princess Elizabeth's extraordinary teenage life; from broadcasting to the children of the Empire, to putting on pantomimes for the war effort.

In 1483, the twelve-year-old King Edward V and his younger brother were put in the Tower of London by their uncle, Richard, the Duke of Gloucester. Weeks later, Richard pronounced himself King. The boys were never seen again.

For more than 500 years it has been assumed that Richard III killed hi...

Behind the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas about the adventures of a man betrayed, abandoned, and left for dead who resurrects to quench his thirst for vengeance, lies a true, dreadful story.

Turned in by his so-called friends, a man named Picaud is locked away for years in the Alps with a prie...

A building lost in the midst of a 5 000 hectare park, that’s the equivalent of the surface of Paris, Chambord is the castle of all superlatives. 156 metres of façade, over 400 rooms, 77 stairways. The castle commissioned by François 1st in the 16th century is also the most mysterious. For over 5 ...

In August 1938, just west of Vienna, Hitler ordered the construction of the Mauthausen concentration camp, one of the deadliest in history. Some 200,000 people would be deported there. Over 120,000 would perish.

The Nazi regime didn’t settle for inflicting violence, hunger, and terror onto the ...

On June 14th, 1940, Paris falls under German occupation. Two doctors, Jean Talairach and René Suttel, discover an entrance to the mines of the city. They start a mapping operation of the catacombs in order to help the Resistance and de Gaulle.

How did two young resistance fighters manage to find...

December 1914. After 5 months of war, both the Germans and the Allies have dug themselves in behind impenetrable lines. Faced with this siege, the soldiers will bring back into use an old weapon that they will modernize: mines, blowing up enemy fortifications from beneath...

In February 1915, i...

A stone’s throw from the iconic Cheops pyramids, another famous man-made creation rises, towering over the Giza Plateau: The Grand Egyptian Museum.