The Most Kick-Butt Queens in History

Queen Victoria (Victoria: The Queen, by Julia Baird)
The term “the Victorian Age” sounds stodgy and probably makes you think of uncomfortable fashions and an excess of polite verbiage. The queen the age was named after, however, was anything but polite. Until this year, Victoria was the longest-reigning English monarch, and during that time, she survived no less than seven assassination attempts. More importantly, many modern thinkers attribute the roots of the suffrage and feminist movements, in part, to Victoria’s grace under the incredible pressure of ascending the throne at the age of 18—and her refusal to be anything but a strong monarch.

Wu Zetian (Wu, by Jonathan Clements)
In the late 7th and early 8th centuries, Wu Zetian went from a concubine to an emperor, to official consort to his son, and finally to commanding China outright as the only woman to rule that country in thousands of years. Not only did she rise to the throne, she was pretty damn good at sitting it, expanding the empire hugely and making a lasting impact on the culture. Don’t for a moment think that Wu Zetian simply fell into power, either; when describing her rise, the word “seized” is used pretty liberally; this was one determined and ruthless woman: the woman who established the Zhou Dynasty—of which she was the only ruler.

The Rani of Jhansi (Rebel Queen, by Michelle Moran)
One of the most remarkable women in history, Rani Lakshmibai should have inherited the Indian state of Jhansi when her husband the Maharaja died in 1853, but the British East India Company ruled that the Doctrine of Lapse applied, and claimed the state for itself. This might have had something to do with the enthusiasm with which the Rani of Jhansi supported the Sepoy Revolt of 1857-1858, which saw British-trained Indian soldiers rebel against the Raj, sparked by a rumor that the cartridges for their guns were greased with pig fat. When news of the rebellion reached Jhansi, Lakshmibai asked permission to raise an armed guard for her own protection, and the request was granted. Lakshmibai was at first noncommittal to the revolt, but later she took control of Jhansi and defended it against British forces. Ultimately forced to flee, she died wearing a calvary uniform and fighting in the field, and to this day is a symbol of independence and fierce resistance in India. She was admired even by her enemies, who described her as “personable, clever and beautiful,” and “the most dangerous of all Indian leaders.”

Queen Boudica (Boudica, by Vanessa Collingridge)
Back when Britain was an island full of warring tribes, Boudica inherited her kingdom from her husband despite his will ceding control to the Roman Emperor. Since Roman rule wasn’t particularly benevolent or beneficial to the Iceni people, Boudica wasn’t just robbed of her kingdom, but beaten and raped. She led a revolt against Rome, raising a massive army of 100,000 and killing nearly that many as she raided her way across the province. Fond of riding a chariot flanked by her daughters, Boudica enjoyed early successes. But in a pattern that Rome repeated many times, the empire slowly organized and recovered from the shock, and the British rebels were destroyed. No one’s entirely certain what happened to Boudica or her body, but her legacy as one of the most dangerous women who ever lived survives to this day.

Queen Elizabeth I (The Marriage Game, by Alison Weir)
Queen Elizabeth isn’t exactly known for her fighting abilities or her military acumen, although she did hold her kingdom together at a moment in history when it came closer to falling apart than ever before. But what really makes the Virgin Queen such a fierce historical figure is the way she played the political game, turning her historical disadvantage—her gender—into her most powerful playing card. Elizabeth I used her marriage and reproductive prospects ruthlessly and brilliantly, first to shore up her claim to the throne, and later to manipulate the powerful men who sought to supplant, stifle, or assassinate her. Considering she ascended to the throne after being imprisoned and nearly executed, she is certainly one of the fiercest queens in history.