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King Charles I was beheaded in Whitehall, near the houses of parliament. The people watching the ceremony were allowed to go up and dip handkerchiefs in his blood – it was believed the blood of a king would cure their illness.

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There were no pavements and no sewage system in medieval London, so all the filth ended up on the streets or in the Thames.

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There were no pavements and no sewage system in medieval London, so all the filth ended up on the streets or in the Thames.

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The extent of the filth got to a point where some streets became unbearable and muck-rakers were hired for the sole duty of cleaning them. Justifiably, they were paid well.

Because there was no sewage system, most Londoners used cesspits – a.k.a big ol' holes in the ground full of shit. They were supposed to be emptied by muckrakers on a regular basis, but that didn't always happen. One muckraker, called Richard the Raker, fell through the rotten planks of his own outhouse and drowned in the contents of the cesspit below. Which is a pretty shitty way to die tbh.

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The Monarch is not allowed to enter the House of Commons

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The Monarch is not allowed to enter the House of Commons

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One of several bizarre ancient rules in English Law states that the reigning monarch cannot set foot in England’s House of Commons. The law first passed in 1642 when King Charles I interrupted English Parliament to forcibly arrest five MPs. Since then, only a representative of the monarch, whom is known to carry a black rod, can enter the House of Commons. The law still stands today; Queen Elizabeth II has never entered the House of Commons, though nobody is quite sure what the punishment would be if she broke that rule.

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Tea is famously the most popular drink among the English. It’s estimated that 165 million cups of tea are drunk in England every day – more than any other nation on the planet (by contrast, tea consumption in the US is 20 times lower)

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While the good ol’ cuppa tea is an essential part of the cultural fabric of the English, actual sales of tea have declined by almost two-thirds between 1974 and 2014. Tea is still more popular than coffee, though the decline of tea is sometimes attributed to the emergence of coffee culture in the UK.

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The name “England” originates from the Old English name “Englaland”, meaning “land of the Angles”. The Angles were one of the two main tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages. This tribe came from Denmark, and the other main tribe, the Saxons, arrived from Germany. Most indigenous English people can trace their ancestry back to the Anglo-Saxons.

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Most people will know that the lion is the national animal of England, popularised by the iconic Three Lions emblem that features on the country’s insignia, on the flags and shields of English armies from centuries ago, and on the England national football team jersey.

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Winchester was the first capital of England.

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Winchester was the first capital of England.

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The ancient city of Winchester was the first capital of England in the 9th Century. Known as Wintanceaster by the Saxons, the city was the capital of the Kingdom of Wessex, before King Æthelstan established a unified England.

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The Queen owns all dolphins in British waters

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The Queen owns all dolphins in British waters

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Queen Elizabeth II has legal ownership over all the dolphins in the UK and in British waters, as well as sturgeons, porpoises, and whales. Known as ‘fishes royal”, any that are caught within three kilometres of the British coast are considered royal property. This statute dates back to 1324 and is still law today.