Notebooks

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Her Great Quality

Elizabeth II’s playful sense of humour brought us fleeting glimpses of her unguarded private side. No wonder we clung to them.

Daisy Dunn September 10, 2022

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The two Elizabeths

Very few monarchs have been so widely adored as Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II. Perhaps it is because they placed love at the centre of their relationship with their subjects.

Estelle Paranque September 9, 2022

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Elizabeth the Dutiful

If you were to attach one descriptive word to Queen Elizabeth, as in Alfred the Great or William the Conqueror, it would be dutiful.

Allan Massie September 9, 2022

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Queen Elizabeth II — the end of a glorious reign

The Queen's life of service, duty and sacrifice is an example to Britain and to the world.

Bruce Anderson September 8, 2022

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What pushed Sweden away from socialism?

Sweden's radical economic policies during the Cold War decades inspired socialists worldwide. However, its wage earner funds found little support and instead generated a new visio..

Rikard Westerberg September 7, 2022

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Missing the swallowtail butterflies of Ukraine

In the teeth of Russian assault, we think of Ukraine as the borderland, the bloodlands, Europe’s cursed killing ground. But no-one mentions Ukraine’s extraordinary natural beauty.

Catherine Merridale September 5, 2022

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Bruegel had a Worldview

The prolific paintings of Pieter Bruegel the Elder may be familiar, but a closer look at the artist’s philosophy reveals he remains defiantly counter-cultural.

Gavin Plumley September 2, 2022

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Gorbachev did not end the Cold War alone — the West won

Gorbachev decided to fold up the Soviet Union without a military confrontation, for which he certainly deserves praise, but to present him as a man who ended the evil of European C..

Andrew Roberts August 31, 2022

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A brief history of the fatwa

The role of fatwas provides a dark insight into the relationship between Iranian religion and politics over the past century.

Ali Ansari August 24, 2022