History Behind the Headlines: Briefing

"This is not Winston Churchill we're dealing with," US president Donald Trump remarked of prime minister Sir Keir Starmer earlier this week. The comment came among the international tension sparked by US-Israeli military action against Iran, and specifically the UK government's initial refusal to let United States forces use the British base at Diego Garcia.

But what's the longer history at play here – both in the analogy to Britain's wartime PM, and of the use of American military bases in British territory? In this episode of HistoryExtra’s series History Behind the Headlines: Briefing, Sam Edwards from Loughborough University looks at some of the historical context behind the escalating situation in the Middle East.

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HISTORY BEHIND THE HEADLINES

For further historical analysis of the latest breaking news, don't miss HistoryExtra's History Behind the Headlines podcast: https://play.megaphone.fm/vv4s-xn6tfmntfojkacmna 

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Headlines in recent days have highlighted calls from the members of governments of various Commonwealth countries to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the royal line of succession. Mountbatten-Windsor was released under investigation after being arrested on 19 February on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has always denied any wrongdoing.

In this episode of HistoryExtra’s series History Behind the Headlines: Briefing, Craig Prescott – a specialist in UK constitutional law and the role of the monarchy based at the Royal Holloway University of London – explores the longer history of the royal line of succession.

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HISTORY BEHIND THE HEADLINES

For further historical analysis of the latest breaking news, don't miss HistoryExtra's History Behind the Headlines podcast: https://play.megaphone.fm/vv4s-xn6tfmntfojkacmna 

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If you’ve enjoyed this episode, why not become a member of HistoryExtra for access to thousands of ad-free podcasts, hundreds of hours of video and a huge archive of articles from leading historians: https://www.historyextra.com/subscribe/

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Headlines in recent weeks have highlighted the negative impact that recent acrimony between the United States and Europe has had on transport and tourism, with the number of visitors making the transatlantic trip reportedly down – in both directions. 

Yet political friction in the US-Europe relationship is nothing new, and in this episode of HistoryExtra’s series History Behind the Headlines: Briefing, Sam Edwards from Loughborough University charts the longer links between tension and tourism.

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HISTORY BEHIND THE HEADLINES

For further historical analysis of the latest breaking news, don't miss HistoryExtra's History Behind the Headlines podcast: https://play.megaphone.fm/vv4s-xn6tfmntfojkacmna

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GO BEYOND THE PODCAST 
If you’ve enjoyed this episode, why not become a member of HistoryExtra for access to thousands of ad-free podcasts, hundreds of hours of video and a huge archive of articles from leading historians: https://www.historyextra.com/subscribe/

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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, younger brother of King Charles, has now been released under investigation following his arrest yesterday (19 February 2026) on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The news followed an announcement by Thames Valley Police that they were assessing a complaint over the alleged sharing of confidential material by the former prince with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor has previously denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, but the arrest is the latest development in a scandal that could prove enormously damaging for the royal family.

In this episode of HistoryExtra’s series History Behind the Headlines: Briefing, Hannah Skoda from the University of Oxford looks back at other historical instances of royals being arrested – and the reasons behind their brushes with the law.

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HISTORY BEHIND THE HEADLINES

For more in-depth thoughts from Hannah Skoda on the historical parallels of the news of Andrew's arrest, don't miss next Thursday's episode of our History Behind the Headlines podcast. For more details and to follow now for the latest updates, click here: https://play.megaphone.fm/vv4s-xn6tfmntfojkacmna

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Japan's first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, achieved a landslide election victory last week – as rumours swirled online that the CIA had been predicting that outcome before the polls even closed. Whatever the truth of those claims, it's not the first time that potential connections have been drawn between the American intelligence agency and Japanese politics.
In this episode of HistoryExtra’s series History Behind the Headlines: Briefing, Chris Harding from the University of Edinburgh investigates the interplay between America and Japanese politics since the depths of the Cold War.

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GO BEYOND THE PODCAST 

For further historical analysis of the latest breaking news, don't miss HistoryExtra's History Behind the Headlines podcast: https://play.megaphone.fm/vv4s-xn6tfmntfojkacmna

And if you’ve enjoyed this episode, why not become a member of HistoryExtra for access to thousands of ad-free podcasts, hundreds of hours of video and a huge archive of articles from leading historians: https://www.historyextra.com/subscribe/

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UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy has described recent repercussions from the Epstein files as needing to be "a moment of reckoning". And the scope and severity of the scandal has certainly been sizeable. But what are the other moments of reckoning that have altered the course of recent political history?

In this episode of HistoryExtra's series History Behind the Headlines: Briefing, Sam Edwards from Loughborough University looks back at previous crises that have a similarly significant impact.

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GO BEYOND THE PODCAST 

For further historical analysis of the latest breaking news, don't miss HistoryExtra's History Behind the Headlines podcast: https://play.megaphone.fm/vv4s-xn6tfmntfojkacmna

And if you’ve enjoyed this episode, why not become a member of HistoryExtra for access to thousands of ad-free podcasts, hundreds of hours of video and a huge archive of articles from leading historians: https://www.historyextra.com/subscribe/

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Fallout from the latest revelations relating to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to reverberate throughout the political world. In the UK, former prime minister Gordon Brown has called for the creation of an 'anti-corruption commission'. But how was sleaze and scandal tackled in previous centuries? 

In this episode of HistoryExtra's series History Behind the Headlines: Briefing, Hannah Skoda from the University of Oxford considers some of the ways in which people set out to deal with corruption.

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GO BEYOND THE PODCAST 

For further historical analysis of the latest breaking news, don't miss HistoryExtra's History Behind the Headlines podcast: https://play.megaphone.fm/vv4s-xn6tfmntfojkacmna

And if you’ve enjoyed this episode, why not become a member of HistoryExtra for access to thousands of ad-free podcasts, hundreds of hours of video and a huge archive of articles from leading historians: https://www.historyextra.com/subscribe/

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The 2026 Winter Games kick off today, with events set to take place around northern Italy across the next two weeks. The competition is being marketed with the tagline ‘100 Years of Olympic Winter Games’ - but is that really an accurate portrayal of their history?

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MORE ON THE WINTER OLYMPICS

For more from Martin Polley on the history of the Games, don't miss our Long Reads episode on Monday: https://play.megaphone.fm/tz3_ntwttvsdtrzofiz5dq

GO BEYOND THE PODCAST 

For further historical analysis of the latest breaking news, don't miss HistoryExtra's History Behind the Headlines podcast: https://play.megaphone.fm/vv4s-xn6tfmntfojkacmna

And if you’ve enjoyed this episode, why not become a member of HistoryExtra for access to thousands of ad-free podcasts, hundreds of hours of video and a huge archive of articles from leading historians: https://www.historyextra.com/subscribe/

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Sir Keir Starmer visited Beijing and Shanghai last week, making him the UK’s first prime minister to travel to China since Theresa May in 2018. The trip has sparked plenty of commentary that the two nations are aiming to end a ‘diplomatic ice age’ that has developed between them.

Ups and downs in this relationship are nothing new, however. In this episode of HistoryExtra’s series History Behind the Headlines: Briefing, Rana Mitter – ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School – looks back at the historical trajectory of ties between the UK and the China.

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GO BEYOND THE PODCAST 

For further historical analysis of the latest breaking news, don't miss HistoryExtra's History Behind the Headlines podcast: https://play.megaphone.fm/vv4s-xn6tfmntfojkacmna

And if you’ve enjoyed this episode, why not become a member of HistoryExtra for access to thousands of ad-free podcasts, hundreds of hours of video and a huge archive of articles from leading historians: https://www.historyextra.com/subscribe/

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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been back in the headlines over the weekend, as a new batch of files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, released by the US Department of Justice, included correspondence with a man believed to be the former duke. It's the latest stage in the scandal surrounding Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles last November. 

History shows that royal families have been no stranger to scandal, and in this episode of HistoryExtra's series History Behind the Headlines: Briefing, Hannah Skoda from the University of Oxford looks back at some of the most controversial examples.

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GO BEYOND THE PODCAST 

For further historical analysis of the latest breaking news, don't miss HistoryExtra's History Behind the Headlines podcast: https://play.megaphone.fm/vv4s-xn6tfmntfojkacmna

And if you’ve enjoyed this episode, why not become a member of HistoryExtra for access to thousands of ad-free podcasts, hundreds of hours of video and a huge archive of articles from leading historians: https://www.historyextra.com/subscribe/

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