0:00 Early Life & The Romans
2:24 The Event that Sparked a Revolt
4:43 Physical Description of Boudica
5:35 Celtic Victories
7:40 Rome’s Revenge
10:03 Boudica’s Death & Legacy
11:17 What did Boudica look like?
13:25 Re-Creations Revealed
Meet the woman who gathered the largest army the Roman Empire ever faced. For the full video with history, check out our YouTube, Royalty Now Studios.
Boudica was the Queen of the Iceni tribe, located in what is now Norfolk, England. She led an uprising of Celtic tribes after the Romans pillaged her town, and raped her daughters. Although she was eventually defeated, she remains a British folk hero to this day.
But what’s most mysterious is her appearance. Boudica’s grave and body have never been found.
The only physical description we have to work from comes from Roman Historian Cassius Dio, although he was writing over a hundred years after her death:
“In stature she was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large golden necklace; and she wore a tunic of diverse colors over which a thick mantle was fastened with a brooch…”
I’ve created Boudica’s appearance based on what we know – she was in her late twenties or early thirties when she died. She would have classic Celtic-Briton features, which are all backed up by the description given by Dio – she would be tall, with light coloring – red or blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Common Celtic-Briton facial features are a high forehead, defined cheekbones, narrow nose, and eyebrows that lay close to the eyes.
The Celts are not a unified people, so different tribes would have different traditions. But overall, the Celts were a very decorated people – they loved brightly colored clothing, woven with wool and dyed with natural dyes. Actually, Celtic outfits were so colorful that the Romans often remarked upon it, which is probably why Dio mentions it in his description of Boudica.
The design of the garments would be something like a Roman tunic.
Dio also mentions this large gold necklace that she wears – and he’s talking about a Torc – this thick gold ring worn around the neck. There are dozens of archaeological examples of these.
Despite romantic depictions of Boudica as a painted warrior queen, she probably never wore the blue face paint called woad, although she may have worn eyeliner or other makeup.
We know her hair was long and tawny – although Romans use this term loosely, most assume she had red or red-gold hair. Celtic women would decorate their hair with braids or twists, as well as beads or bits of metal. The warriors would sometimes use chalk-lime to bleach or decorate their hair, although we aren’t sure if Boudica did this.
So while a definitive likeness of Boudica is no longer possible, this is a reliable depiction of what a Celtic Queen from Roman-Era Britain could have looked like!
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Hey everyone! Apologies for the mistake where I said her ethnicity was Anglo-Saxon – it should be Celtic-Briton with classic Celtic Briton facial features. So sorry!
Other videos you may enjoy:
William Wallace: https://youtu.be/RCGygEMGx8Q
Anne Boleyn: https://youtu.be/cetGiQPYRAU
Elizabeth I: https://youtu.be/RRlh8ivGXmQ
A bit random but…the narration is so nice that it seems I am listening to a very well narrated audiobook.
I love your channel.
Boudicca means, "Victory," The statue you mentioned was a gift from Prince Albert to his wife (and her namesake), Queen Victoria.
Paulinus (Suetonius) was criticised heavily at the time for abandoning London, but his troops would've been massacred in the vicious street fighting, for no real gain. His withdrawal, and subsequent well prepared victory, did much to restore his reputation.
I’m guessing she was quite bodacious
Brilliant as always Becca. So educational, historical and artistic of course. Keep up the hard work on this amazing channel!
I love learning the history of these people perhaps even more than your recreations but the recreations are always amazing as well
That was beautiful, it literally brought tears to my eyes. Thank you.
If properly depicted, I would love to see her life in a movie.
I would honestly love it if you could recreate Jesus Christ's real face, to show everyone what the Messiah really looked like.
Can you guys do a video of queen Sheba and king Solomon?
Don't think i would be too cheeky to the Lass, i might be missing the family jewels. Great Video. Love these.
Well done! Compelling story telling and equally moving artistry, as always! Thank you!
Can we get nero and sporous next?
Amazing! Thank you!
Can you please do Skanderbeg
Thank you so much! I love your work and I’m glad you did this one.
SVMVS QVARTADECVMANI LEGIO GEMINA!
Amazing!!!!!! If there's ever a Boudica movie, who would play her?
A lady , a warrior & a leader who is a champion for her people ❤️
Breton, not British (post 15th century). Totally different people.
Thank you for always picking such interesting subjects/people for your "history lesson" and of course your amazing recreations. ❤
Thank you so much, I knew nothing about her! What an incredible story
I researched Boudica when in graduate school. here is a statue of her in London. She was an amazing woman. Thank you for sharing her story.
A truly touching tribute to a great woman whose name alone still resonates 2000 years later.
I would love to see you credit the artists you used. Unless it is your original art?
Really well done. Fabulous research. Thank you to both of you for this portrayal. And yes she wasn't of Anglo or Saxon descent but the early Celts originallt from the European mainland, pushed out by the Franks.
Good work.
Outstanding video! Boudica has been one of my favourite historical figures for decades. She was such a badass and I think you did her justice, if only to imagine, "what if?"
There’s a statue of Boudicca on her chariot across from the British Parliament Buildings and Big Ben. As for Roman description of Celtic women, you have to take into consideration the height of the individual describing her as well as his context of Celtic women compared to Roman women.
'Eternal reminder of what it means to have THE HEART ♥ OF A BRITON '
Thanks Becca. Amazing work. 👏 🙀 So SHE was CELTIC-BRITON, the ICENI TRIBE… that land , in modern day, is now known by what name please?
Your videos are always a good watch. I'd like to see more Asian historical figures done like Empress Wu, Confucius, and Tokugawa.
I don’t think she’d have a permanent frown on her forehead.
Hey babe.. The Tribe of my people are,( I See Knee.) Iceni. tnx. great vid.
I got about 12 seconds into the SECOND add and decided it ain't worth it.
I want to fight…for my right TO PARTY!
Tears are in my eyes as I discover that recreation… In my mind, I pictured Boudica very close to what you've done, a raw "beauty" with that fierce appearance and stern look after all she came through as a woman, as a mother, as a queen and warrior!… Amazing credible work…
"A bright cloak of diverse colors" sounds a lot like tartan to me. The Britons were more similar to the ancient Gaels than they would have been to anyone else. It's reasonable to assume that they used similar processes in milling their clothing. Love the depiction. Boudica is one of the great stories of Celtic fierceness.
I was waiting for Jada Pinkett-Smith to pop out and say what she envisioned Boudicca looking like😂
Can you do the Olga of kiev
A Roman army of 10k takes on an army of over 200k and DECIMATES them, that is a true feat. She took on the Romans and she failed.
I know the Queen of the Icenie did not have much to smile about, but I am willing to bet that when she did smile it would have been like sunshine in a thunder storm.
This story gave me chills.
She looks my sister and her daughter, down to hair and personality!
A women warrior queen you say????…..
A strong female character???..
.. Well I remember my grandma told me that "boudica was surely black" lololol
I read that Tacitus wrote that she had red hair, whereas Dio described her as wearing blond hair. Dio wrote a fuller description of her appearance as well as filling in details not mentioned by Tacitus, so i am inclined to believe more in Dio as he appearantly had access to sources not available to Tacitus.
I really love that you didn’t put your recreation on the thumbnail of the video – I love being in suspense 😂 it makes the reveal so glorious.
According to the Globalist Left Woketard propaganda known as Murican Afrocentrism religion the entire planet was solely populated by Sub-Saharan Africans and every historical figure worldwide throughout all of recorded human history were Sub-Saharan Africans until they were all mysteriously genocided and all trace including DNA and archeological evidence was magically erased and yes that's their core belief.
De acuerdo con la religión del afrocentrismo Yanqui de la propaganda de la izquierda Globalista y su propaganda "Progre" todo el planeta estaba poblado únicamente por africanos subsaharianos y todas las figuras históricas en todo el mundo a lo largo de toda la historia humana registrada, desde Gengis Khan hasta Toro Sentado, eran todos africanos subsaharianos hasta que todos fueron misteriosamente genocidas. y todo rastro, incluido el ADN y la evidencia arqueológica, se borró mágicamente y sí, esa es la creencia central del afrocentrismo Yanqui.
The face you've created looks more scandinavian. You should have based it on Welsh faces. The ignorance in this video is appalling.