History of Shimla started from Stately Windsor Castlewhere the "Widow of Windsor" reigned in lonely, isolated splendour afterthe death of her beloved consort, Prince Albert, to the small, but ancient temple surrounded by thick woods where the himalayan Goddess, Shamla, a synonym of Goddess Kali, reigned her celestial realm on earth is indeed, distantcry, but for well over a century, the two places, almost inter-linked, ruled the destiny of this sub-continent.

In the year 1818, when Queen Victoria's uncle, William IV, was King of England, Lord William Bentick,the Governer General, had transformed the Company's dominion in India to the Dominion of India, and it was accurate to speak of Britain's Indian Empire. The frontier ran from bengal to Kathiawar, to the north it ran through the Thar desert and along the Sutlej nearly to the Himalayan range. The great hills were the northern boundary except for the Gurkha state of Nepal. Beyond this line lay the Punjab, Kashmir and the kingdom of Afghanistan.

In 1814, the Nepalese king brought about the first war with Nepal over Sikkim, the Gurkhas had marched into Sikkim, whose ruler appealed, to the East India Company for help. The Sikkim ruler was installed and his territorial status was guaranteed but during the conflict the British discovered the beauties of Darjeeling and accidentally also the thickly wooded spot, abode of the goddess Shamla, and a part of the Kingdom of Nepal. When war broke afresh in 1819, the British took the place with its cool and healthy climate. Shimla is capital of Himachal Pradesh.