History Behind the Headlines: Briefing

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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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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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/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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?
In this episode of HistoryExtra’s series History Behind the Headlines: Briefing, sports historian Martin Polley charts the real origins of the contest.

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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/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices