PROUD TO SERVE
ELIZABETH II IS THE ONLY BRITISH QUEEN SINCE BOUDICA TO HAVE SERVED IN UNIFORM IN WARTIME. AHEAD OF HER MAJESTY’S BIRTHDAY ON APRIL 21, CHRISTOPHER JOLL LOOKS BACK AT HER LIFELONG COMMITMENT TO THE BRITISH MILITARY FORCES
Since the feared war leader Boudica in 60AD, Elizabeth II is the only British Queen to have served in uniform during war and peace, first as Heir Presumptive and then as sovereign. She is also the last surviving head of state to have served during World War Two and can not only rightfully claim to be this country’s longest reigning monarch, but also the youngest Regimental Colonel of the Grenadier Guards (and to date, their only female Colonel), an appointment she assumed on April 21, 1942, aged just 16.
Although memorably photographed at the time by Cecil Beaton wearing a military-style cap bearing the Grenadiers’ embroidered badge, the young Princess had yet to wear her regiment’s uniform, preferring instead to embellish her jacket with the regiment’s cypher in diamonds and enamel. This brooch had been presented to her by the Grenadiers on April 20 and she wore it the following day when she inspected the regiment at Windsor. Significantly, this inspection not only took place on her 16th birthday but was also the future monarch’s first public engagement.
