Queen Victoria isn’t every eight year old’s idea of a heroine but she was mine.  Something about the unknown princess who became a queen and ruled  for more than 60 years appealed to me.  A biography I was given for my ninth birthday confirmed it – I was hooked on the queen and her empire.

Living in a country which had been part of the empire and having a family tree stuffed with Scots, when I was growing up ties to the United Kingdom were strong.   On Christmas Day, despite the heat, we ploughed through a traditional roast dinner and Christmas pudding as Bing Crosby sang White Christmas.  On Boxing Day we went to the beach.   When Queen Elizabeth II visited New Zealand our entire school marched a mile to stand by the side of the road so we could wave to her as her car passed.

In my twenties I travelled to Britain where I lived and worked for two years, wallowing in the places I’d studied and read about.  I visited castles and palaces, stately homes and villages, walked Hadrian’s Wall and worked on an archaeological dig in Orkney.  I loved it all.

I’ve returned many times, always finding  somewhere new to go and another legacy of Empire to see.  And of course, it’s not just in Britain.  So many places around the world have associations with the British Empire that I know I’ll never get to see all of them, but I’m giving it a go.

So that’s me, a librarian and historian who travels as often as possible and is always on the hunt for any connection to Queen Victoria and the British Empire whether it be in a vintage shop or a foreign field.  The Wandering Historian is an online journal of my travels, finds and anything else relating to Empire that I discover.

Clare

Valletta, Malta