Kate Middleton might make history as first woman to be appointed colonel of Grenadier Guards

The UK Grenadier Guards, who were reportedly relieved after Prince Andrew was removed as their colonel, want Kate Middleton to replace him in the position.

The honorary position went back to the Crown after the Duke of York was stripped of His Royal Highness title and declared a private citizen earlier this month due to the sex abuse case against him. After Andrew's removal, his mother Queen Elizabeth II became the colonel of Grenadier Guards by default, but the officials reportedly want her granddaughter-in-law, Kate Middleton, to take over the duties.

A senior source in the Grenadier Guards told The Times: "From straw polling through the ranks, they would all love it to be Kate. We all admire the way she has fitted in and behaved, she never seems to put a foot wrong."

The appointment of the new colonel is decided by the regiment and the Queen. A military source revealed that the name of the new colonel was due to have been announced on Monday, and it wasn't the Duchess of Cambridge. However, the announcement was delayed, which may mean that they "have been thinking about it again."

If the Duchess of Cambridge is appointed to the position, she will become the second female colonel in the regiment's 366-year history after Queen Elizabeth II. She would also make history by becoming the first female colonel to be appointed to the position.

The regiment was founded in 1656 by King Charles II, and has fought in almost every major campaign of the British Army, including the Napoleonic, Crimean, Boer, First and Second World Wars.

Before Prince Andrew, the position was held by his father Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who stepped back as a colonel when he retired from public life in 2017. Andrew continued to hold the position even when he was forced to quit royal duties in 2019 due to uproar over his association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but lost it recently after a US court denied his appeal to dismiss the sex abuse case against him.

Grenadier Guards reportedly celebrated the news with "three cheers" for the Queen, as the officials used to feel "uncomfortable" drinking to Andrew's health at regimental dinners.