Through the morning mist, the blast of a horn heralds the start of battle. The leader of the troops is a powerful warrior queen. Her tawny hair flies in the wind as her chariot rumbles forth, and sword raised, she lifts her voice in a battle cry to muster her army. Her courage is unflinching. This is Boadicea – Britain’s archetypal warrior queen: she shaped the mould that later inspired great rulers such as Elizabeth and Victoria who carved out the contours of the Kingdom and Empire.