Monarchy

The railway age in the Austrian Empire began with the construction of the horse-drawn railway from Linz to Budweis. Plans soon followed to connect the imperial capital of Vienna with the iron and coal deposits in northern Moravia and with the port city of Trieste. In 1837 the Kaiser Ferdinands Nordbahn was opened, in 1857 the Semmeringbahn planned by Karl Ritter von Ghega, overcoming one of the most difficult obstacles on the way to the Adriatic. The crossing of the Alps by train, such as over the Arlberg or the Brenner, is still considered a unique engineering masterpiece. The expansion of the railway network brought epochal changes. Goods and people circulated on an unprecedented scale – life accelerated. It had succeeded in connecting the northern crown lands such as Silesia or Bohemia and Moravia with Carinthia, Tyrol or the coastal region.

In an ambitious and groundbreaking approach to drama and history featuring dramatic reconstruction, historian Lucy Worsley time travels back to the Tudor Court to witness some of the most dramatic moments in the lives of Henry VIII's six wives.

This eight-part series interviews the Queen's Prime Ministers, members of the Royal Household and closest friends, to build a uniquely personal picture of Elizabeth, the woman, the mother, the Queen.

At the time World War I broke out, the King of England, the Czar of Russia, and the Kaiser of Germany were first cousins. This two-part series looks at the role played by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and King George V of England, and their relationships with each other, in the outbreak of war. Mismanaging their countries and mishandling foreign policy, they failed to adapt to the forces of nationalism and democracy, and so brought tumbling down their own ideal of a Europe governed by the descendants of Queen Victoria. While it was war that delivered the final blow, this fascinating series shows how the problems had set in much earlier. A two part miniseries.

Elizabeth I may be remembered as the greatest monarch to rule England, but during her lifetime she was beset by enemies and hers was a life of constant battling.