Camilla ousts Prince Andrew and becomes Colonel of the Grenadier Guards

The Queen Consort has taken over disgraced Prince Andrew’s role as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards in a shake-up of senior royal military positions.

The shuffle will also see the Princess of Wales promoted to her first Army role, taking over as colonel of the Irish Guards from her husband.

The Prince of Wales will become colonel of the Welsh Guards instead.

Buckingham Palace announced the changes ahead of next year’s Trooping the Colour, which has marked the official birthday of the British Sovereign for more than 250 years.

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The Queen Consort (pictured) has taken over disgraced Prince Andrew’s role as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards in a shake-up of senior royal military positions

Prince Andrew inherited the position of colonel of the Grenadier Guards from his late father, the Duke of Edinburgh, when he retired from public life in 2017.

The King’s Birthday Parade – Charles’s first – will take place on the slightly later date of June 17. The King’s actual birthday is November 14.

It will see the Household Division on Horse Guards Parade, with the monarch attending and taking the salute. There are seven regiments of the senior military unit, which is responsible for delivering state ceremonial and public duties.

The reigning monarch normally holds the appointment of colonel-in-chief of the regiments, but each one also has a colonel who is normally either a member of the Royal Family or a senior officer.

Andrew inherited the position of colonel of the Grenadier Guards from his late father, the Duke of Edinburgh, when he retired from public life in 2017.

As one of the oldest and most iconic regiments in the British Army, it was seen as a plum role – and one that had particular emotional significance given how popular Philip was. He served in the role for 42 years and was loved by both rank and file, as well as top brass.

Andrew, never as keen an equestrian as his siblings, even took riding lessons so that he could appear on horseback. But following his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, the prince was forced by the Queen to step down from official royal duties.

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The shuffle will also see the Princess of Wales promoted to her first Army role, taking over as colonel of the Irish Guards from her husband.

The Prince of Wales (behind the King) will become colonel of the Welsh Guards instead. Buckingham Palace announced the changes ahead of next year’s Trooping the Colour, which has marked the official birthday of the British Sovereign for more than 250 years

But he was allowed to keep ten military affiliations, including colonel of the Grenadier Guards, while he worked to clear his name amid the scandal of his association with US paedophile Jeffery Epstein. He was finally stripped of the ceremonial title earlier this year in the aftermath of his decision to settle a civil lawsuit with one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre, who had also accused him of assault. He has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Sources said it was the ultimate humiliation for the ex-Royal Navy helicopter pilot, who prided himself on his association with the military. Camilla’s appointment to the position was seen as a surprise last night, but may be interpreted as a wise move by the King.

As Queen Consort, she is the highest ranking woman in the Royal Family, which could give Andrew little cause to complain.William, as colonel of the Welsh Guards, will be looking to continue to establish his links with the nation.

Kate has long accompanied her husband to the St Patrick’s Day parades of the Irish Guards, handing out sprigs of shamrock – but now will be the regiment’s colonel in her own right. She is not expected to wear a uniform, however. Prince Harry is a proud Army veteran and twice served in Afghanistan.

He would have been expected to have been made colonel of a regiment had he not quit as a working royal and moved to California with his wife Meghan.