© Jim Hargan
ALFRED THE GREAT was more than a great monarch; he invented England as we know it. As we travel through Hampshire and the other counties of Alfred’s domain, his successes surround us. When you start looking for signs of King Alfred in modern England, the one you notice least is the most obvious: everyone speaks English.
DOMINIC MONAGHAN takes time out from a whirlwind press tour to chat about his career and one of his latest projects, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. In it, he reprises his role of Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck, who, along with his fellow Hobbits, is on a life-and-death mission to thwart the forces of evil.
On the evening of 10th May 1940, Nazi Germany’s Deputy Führer RUDOLF HESS parachuted into Scotland on a self-appointed “peace mission.” Ever since, however, there has been speculation that his mission had the secret approval of the Fiihrer. What is the truth behind Hess’ mission, surely one of the strangest events of the War?