05:08PM, Monday 27 November 2017
Royal Navy sailors made history as they performed the Changing the Guard ceremony outside Windsor Castle for the first time.
Tourists lined the streets for the landmark occasion today (Monday) and watched on as sailors wearing distinctive navy blue greatcoats with white webbing and caps marched through the town.
The historical moment took place to commemorate 2017 as the ‘Year of the Navy’.
The privilege of guarding the Queen’s royal residence has traditionally belonged to the Household Troops, who have been carrying out the duty since 1660.
But following a month of training at the Royal Navy’s headquarters in Portsmouth, the sailors were deemed ready to take over from the Army’s Household Division.
Lieutenant Commander Nicola Cripps, a former student at Maidenhead’s Newlands Girls’ School, became the first Royal Navy officer to be Captain of the Windsor Castle Guard.
She said: “Everywhere we go, people have said how pleased they are to see the Royal Navy mounting the Guard, and it is a tremendous honour, not just for my service, but the Naval Service as a whole.”
Ceremonial duties will also be carried out at Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and St James’s Palace, with the tour of duty set to end on December 8.
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