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4. Life without Elizabeth

The story behind a portrait justifying Elizabeth I's position in the Tudor succession.

• 15 mins

5. Swordplay and Swagger

Neil MacGregor explores the essential accoutrements of any self-respecting gentleman.

• 15 mins

6. Europe: Triumphs of the Past

What Henry V's armoury tells us about the depiction of history on the Elizabeth stage.

• 15 mins

7. Ireland: Failures in the Present

A rare woodcut offers an insight into the troubles and tragedies of Elizabethan Ireland.

• 15 mins

8. City Life, Urban Strife

Neil MacGregor explores life in Shakespeare's London through an apprentice's woollen cap.

• 15 mins

9. New Science, Old Magic

A disc of black obsidian from Mexico reflects the Elizabethan fascination with astrology.

• 15 mins

10. Toil and Trouble

A model ship hung in a church reveals the differences between Scottish and English witches

• 15 mins

11. Treason and Plots

Tabloid history of Shakespeare's England via contemporary accounts of royal murder plots.

• 15 mins

12. Sex and the City

Neil MacGregor on how a delicate glass goblet reveals the twin seductions of Venice.

• 15 mins

13. From London to Marrakech

Sunken gold from West Africa sheds light on England's complex relationship with the Moors.

• 15 mins

14. Disguise and Deception

A pedlar's trunk reveals deception and religion, cross-dressing and travelling salesmen.

• 15 mins

15. The Flag That Failed

The problems in creating a Great Britain are encapsulated in designs for a common flag.

• 15 mins

16. A Time of Change, a Change of Time

A striking clock reveals the changing relationship Shakespeare's audiences had to time.

• 15 mins

17. Plague and the Playhouse

Early 17th-century proclamations reveal the impact of the 1603 plague outbreak.

• 15 mins

18. London Becomes Rome

Neil MacGregor surveys the triumphal arches created for James I's entry into London.

• 15 mins

19. The Theatres of Cruelty

A human eyeball in a silver setting gives a striking insight into the theatre of cruelty.

• 15 mins

20. Shakespeare Goes Global

How a folio of collected plays in 1623 began the creation of a global phenomenon.

• 15 mins