Veronica Pickering is the new Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire and the first woman and person of colour to hold the role
The King's new personal representative in Nottinghamshire has spoken about her journey from a small farm in Kenya to becoming the county's top civic dignitary. Veronica Pickering, officially installed as Nottinghamshire's latest Lord-Lieutenant on March 2, says she will bring something different to the centuries-old role as the first woman and the first person of colour to hold it.
The Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire is a role that has been filled for the last 12 years by Sir John Peace, who followed the current law on the lieutenancy role by retiring on his 75th birthday. Other previous occupants have included former Boots chairman Gordon Hobday and the Second World War Major-General Sir Robert Laycock.
"It's places that I think other people don't see or hear from, and voices that you don't hear from and cultures and communities you don't hear from. I'm really hoping that in my time as Lord-Lieutenant, that will be an improvement." "You've seen quite a lot and you've survived quite a lot. I thought of it as a difficult transition at the time. not many black families in the school that I attended.
"I won't say that it isn't, because I think it is. Being the first person of colour is also equally important. I think all of those firsts are ways of breaking down barriers, of being a positive role model, of being somebody that others hopefully feel that they can follow." Mrs Pickering, who now lives in Lambley, said: "I grew up on a small farm in Kenya and that connection with land and nature has always been part of my life. I've always lived in a rural setting.
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