Kate Williams’ dream destination Easter Island

Kate Williams is well known to TV viewers from popular BBC series Restoration Home.

She’s also an acknowledged historical and royal expert, regularly sought after by the BBC for big events as well as being an analyst for American network CNN.

Kate has presented numerous documentaries, including one on Young Victoria.

She is also an author and her novel The Storms of War, set in the summer of 1914, is out now, published by Orion, £12.99 hardback.

She told The Sunday Post about her favourite holiday destinations.

“One of my first childhood memories was picking worms on a beach I spent a lot of time messing about on British beaches.

“We used to go to north Wales frequently and when I was 10 we went to the Isle of Skye, which was one of our most memorable family holidays. I was brought up in a little village in Staffordshire, about half-an-hour from Birmingham.

“So, it was a long, long drive with lots of toys to keep my younger brother and myself occupied. But it was so worth it as it was beautiful and it seemed as if it was only us there.

“The first time I went abroad was to Disney World in Florida when I was 11 but going to Paris the following year was much more interesting.

“I went up the Eiffel Tower and with all the lovely cafes and a nice hotel it seemed like the epitome of sophistication.

“The place I’ve found most fascinating was St Petersburg. I went to stay with a penfriend when I was 17. The art we saw in the museums was fascinating and the Peterhof Palace, which was under restoration, had this incredible grandeur.

“I was obsessed by reading Anna Karenina and Tolstoy and it was just one of the most impressive places I’ve ever been.

“There were fewer tourists back then and the Russians were eager to talk and befriend you. But it was fascinating the way Britain was presented to them.

“My friend had a book that said everything stopped for tea at 4pm and that was why we were so inefficient. When she came to see me she really did think that happened.

“I like cities and I spent two months when I was a student wandering round India and seeing the Great Palaces in Rajasthan.

“When I finished university I had three months travelling around Central America with a friend.

“We went from Mexico down through Guatemala to Nicaragua and then Costa Rica. Guatemala was such a beautiful country and the Mayan ruins were fascinating. It was just an incredible experience.

“The two things I wanted to do after university was to write a book and to go to South America.

“I decided those three months I had wasn’t long enough and I’d leave it and go another time.

“But now I don’t think I’d be in a position to go for two weeks never mind three months, so I’ve missed my chance.

“But the place I’d like to go most would be Easter Island. I went to lecture on a cruise recently but sadly it sailed past and didn’t stop.

“It’s so striking and, as a historian, I think it has one of the biggest historical mysteries you can imagine.