Founded in 1868, the Royal Historical Society (RHS) is a successful learned society, membership organisation and charity with a 150 year history. Today, the RHS is the UK’s foremost society working for historians and history.
In 2026 more than 7,000 historians belong and contribute to the Society — as Fellows and Members active in the UK and worldwide. This makes the RHS the UK’s largest membership organisation for historians of all kinds, and from all walks of life — held in high regard by historians internationally, and a partner to many similar organisations overseas.
We welcome applications to join the Society at any time. We offer Fellowship and Membership options for historians and history enthusiasts of all kinds and backgrounds. Membership of the Society brings a wide range of benefits and opportunities as set out in our Guide for Members (version: November 2025).
Our national and international connections are led by the historians who make up the RHS Council (Trustees), and the small central team based at University College London, which is the home of the Society. Each year, the Society supports c.75 historians at all professional stages, from PhD to later career, as recipients of its research funding programme.
Lucy Noakes, President of the Society, delivers her inaugural Presidential Lecture in November 2024.
The Society’s remit covers the following principal areas:
- policy work relating to academic research, education and teaching
- advocacy and intervention in debates about the study of history
- publishing of a journal, primary source collections, book series, online resources, and scholarly communications relating to the discipline
- academic events showcasing new research
- research & skills training and professional engagement, with a focus on early career historians
- a grants and fellowships programme, directed towards historians at all career stages
- prizes and awards, to recognise excellence in the discipline
- provision of a research Library and Archive, based at UCL, with particular strengths in the development of the modern historical profession in the UK.
Many of these areas are covered in the Society’s Strategy, 2026-2028 which was published in November 2025 which will provide a framework for the Society’s activities in the coming months and years.
In the early 2020s, the Society revised and extended its membership categories to engage with a wider membership from sectors beyond beyond higher education. Researchers and those working in history are welcome to join the RHS as Fellows and Members, with applications welcome at any time.
How the Royal Historical Society works
The Society is predominantly a voluntary organisation with a revolving Council whose members offer dedicated service ensuring the smooth-running and development of the organisation. The Council comprises a body of Fellows each of whom serves a four-year term working on our various committees and working parties. Each year, the Fellowship elects three new members of Council using a preferential voting system.
The Royal Historical Society Council meets five times a year at the RHS Offices at University College London.
Council in turn elects our Officers — including the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretaries for Education, Research, Publications, and Advocacy & Public Engagement — who each serve a four-year term. The Officers also chair the Society’s committees responsible for Education, Research Policy and Publications; other Councillors chair committees responsible for, among other activities, Research Support and Membership.
The President, Officers and Councillors work closely with the RHS central office team, based at UCL, who are responsible for the running and management of the Society.
In areas such as policy formation, training and events, the RHS also works with other national bodies: the Historical Association, which leads on history in schools; the Institute of Historical Research, a national centre for research resources; and History UK (HE) a council of representatives of UK university history departments.
By-Laws of the Royal Historical Society
The RHS is governed by its By-Laws. Revisions to the By-Laws are made, on approval, at the Society’s Annual General Meeting, held each November or at a Special General Meeting. The most recent update to the By-Laws was implemented in February 2026.
If you have any queries about the Royal Historical Society, its work, or website, please contact the RHS Office: [email protected]