Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is a useful starting point for researching historical figures (they have to have died by 2005 to be included). Articles are thoroughly researched and have excellent sets of references, including articles by relevant historians. Here for example are the articles on Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth I. (Full access to the site is only allowed at school and at public libraries)

Differing views on the Queen Mother

The official biography of the Queen Mother has just been published. It is based on her own letters and papers so should be quite revealing about what she was like and what she experienced as Queen during World War 2 in particular. More details can be found here, while a writer in the Guardian takes a more controversial view, considering her to be the "Queen of Unkindness". What do you think?

PS: The picture is from 1928, 5 years after her marriage to Albert, the Duke of York (he would become King George VI after his brother Edward's abdication in 1936)