Who has been removed from the line of succession?
Out of line Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor may be removed from the line of succession. When was the last time this happened?…
Inside the daring plan to reclaim the Chagos Islands
Peros Banhos on the Chagos archipelago looks like your basic tropical island paradise: turquoise waters and golden sands, waves lapping…
‘More than half our squad were executed’: Inside Russia’s rotten army
The Russians are on the warpath – and Europe is Vladimir Putin’s next target. That was Sir Keir Starmer’s alarming…
How to listen for alien life
For more than 60 years, scientists have been on the stealthiest stakeout in history. Using state-of-the-art listening devices, they’ve tapped…
The no.1 quango that deserves the axe
There are elements of economic life, such as the impact of President Donald Trump’s ever-changing tariffs, that are far beyond…
‘It was making me think like a Latin American dictator’: why my moustache had to go
Iloved my moustache. Unfortunately, my fondness for it seemed inversely proportionate to its popularity among my peers. After much unsolicited…
Marvellous but repetitious: Gwen John – Strange Beauties reviewed
A pilgrimage to Cardiff Central, sorry, Caerdydd Canolog (according to the signage in the station, which also had my return…
U2’s childlike response to world affairs
Whither the protest song in 2026? In January 1970, John Lennon wrote and recorded ‘Instant Karma!’ in a single day…
The blandness of Hugh Bonneville
Shadowlands, by William Nicholson, is a solid and unsurprising account of the brief marriage between C.S. Lewis (known as Clive),…
Fascinating: EPiC – Elvis Presley in Concert reviewed
EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert is a concert documentary that grew out of the 65 boxes of unseen Las Vegas…
Enjoyably old-fashioned: ITV’s The Lady reviewed
I lasted all of five minutes with Netflix’s tasting menu-length Being Gordon Ramsay. This surprised me, because I’ve long had…
A playful, big-hearted, intelligent new opera
Some people like art to have a message. So here’s one, delivered by Katsushika Hokusai near the end of Dai…
The genius of John Vanbrugh
Van’s genius, without Thought or Lecture, Is hugely turn’d to Architecture. Jonathan Swift’s dismissive jest has never been forgotten. It…
‘He never drew a peaceful breath’: the tormented life of Henry VII
The challenges faced by the minor Welsh earl with tenuous claims to the English throne shattered his health, weakened his grip on affairs and eventually lost him the trust of his subjects
Nights at the Lutetia – the dark history of a luxury hotel
When the great Left Bank establishment was requisitioned by the Abwehr in 1940, the staff continued to serve the new guests with their habitual courtesy – and even welcomed them back postwar
The woke wars intensify
Nigel Biggar argues eloquently for countering ‘cancel culture’ with classical liberalism – but a far more fanatical anti-woke ideology is gathering pace
Learning from history requires sophistication and skill
While the past can never provide ‘how to’ guides for the future, Odd Arne Westad makes some interesting comparisons between the balance of power pre-1914 and the present
The Venice Ghetto was a landmark in the history of Jewish persecution
In the early 16th century, on the orders of the Doge, Jews were herded en masse to the foundry district of Venice, which became a model for segregated Jewish quarters throughout Europe
From enfant terrible to dame: Tracey Emin in her own words
Steeped in the seascape of Margate, Emin is above all a Romantic, for whom dreams are a vivid source of inspiration and art is a kind of salvation
Streamlined chic or lacy froth: royal style wars of the 1930s
Nothing signalled the personalities of the warring sisters-in-law more clearly than the contrasting fashion sense of Wallis Simpson and Queen Elizabeth
Revelling in reading: The Enchanting Lives of Others, by Can Xue, reviewed
A group of young fiction enthusiasts and intellectuals channel their energies into devouring novels – and marvel at how enlightened it makes them feel
Women have never had it so good as now
Rather than feeling angry or afraid, or viewing their bodies as a source of pain, women should embrace the benefits of the sexual revolution and ‘grab life by the ovaries’, says Zoe Strimpel