PR 060 Boadicea queen

Boadicea, also known as Boudica, was queen of the Iceni, a British tribe based in what is now Norfolk, eastern England. Her name became forever associated with one of the most significant episodes of resistance against Roman rule in Britain.

Around AD 60–61, Boudica led a major uprising against Rome. The rebellion united the Iceni with other British peoples angered by abuses under Roman administration, the confiscation of property and the treatment of local elites following the death of her husband, King Prasutagus.

The rebel forces attacked important Roman settlements, including Camulodunum (modern Colchester), Londinium (London) and Verulamium (near present-day St Albans). The destruction of these towns seriously threatened Roman control of the province.

The uprising eventually ended after the rebel army was confronted by Roman forces under the governor Suetonius Paulinus. Although Boudica was defeated, she became an enduring symbol of independence, courage and resistance against imperial power.

Queen Boudica remains one of the most remarkable figures in the history of Roman Britain, representing the opposition of the indigenous peoples to the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Empire.