History Today

Prince Rupert, 1619-82

1982 marks the tercentenary of the death of Prince Rupert, the most brilliant of Charles I's generals. As Hugh Trevor-Roper here documents, he was single-minded in his chosen craft of war, but Rupert was never able to grasp the complexities of the contemporary situation.

The Paradox of Mazarin

Should Cardinal Mazarin be viewed as a great French statesman or as an Italian adventurer whose luck never ran out? The element of paradox is central to Mazarin’s career.

Churchill's Indian Summer

An inspiring leader during the dark days of war, Winston Churchill was losing popularity with the Conservative defeat of the post war years. But despite growing pressure from his cabinet colleagues Churchill chose his own time to relinquish the office of Prime Minister.

Jury Vetting in the Seventeenth Century

Juries are generally believed to be the collective voice of free-born Englishmen, but in the aftermath of Civil War the system was at the centre of debate about the effective governance of England.

The Pallas of Pall Mall: The Life and Paintings of Lady Butler

During the last quarter of the nineteenth century the imposing canvases of battles and military manoeuvres painted by Elizabeth Thompson, later Lady Butler, caught the imagination of a nation keen to celebrate the successes of its Army. Among the artist’s many admirers was John Ruskin, who referred to her as the ‘Pallas of Pall Mall’.