Many of us know the story of William the Conqueror from school. He invaded in 1066, beat Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings – where the Anglo-Saxon was felled by an arrow to the eye – and became King of England. Except (even leaving to one side the argument of the arrow in the eye) that’s a long way from the full story of how this bastard son of Viking descendants came to power in the first place. So who was he, and how did he come to believe himself the rightful heir to the English throne? Find out from page 28 – it’s a gripping tale of rags to riches that will have you on the edge of your seat.
More mysteries are unravelled for you this issue in the shape of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (how many can you name before opening the feature?), and the codecrackers whose the orts helped bring about an end to the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II.