First woman to command Palace troops ‘humble’
A CANADIAN soldier who has become the first female officer to command troops guarding the Queen at Buckingham Palace said she was focused on “doing my job and staying humble”.
Capt Megan Couto, 24, has been given the role of Captain of the Queen’s Guard. Her unit, The Second Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry has been invited to the UK to mark this year’s 150th anniversary of Canada’s confederation.
“Any of my peers would be absolutely delighted to be Captain of the Queen’s Guard and I’m equally honoured,” Capt Couto said.
Before marching with her troops to the palace from the nearby Wellington Barracks, she brushed aside any nerves.
“We’ve practised enough and the guys have been through their paces,” she said. “I’ve just to focus on saying the right commands.”
The role of Mounting the Queen’s Guard usually falls to the British Army’s Household Division, which is largely made up of male troops.
Women in the British Army have served on front-line duties in a variety of roles, but until last July were banned from ground close-combat roles, so no female officer has served as Captain of the Queen’s Guard.
The Government is opening up combat roles to women over a phased three-year term.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “I have always wanted roles in our armed forces to be determined by ability, not gender.”
Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Manitoba, was named after the daughter of the then-Governor General of Canada.