THE Grenadier Guards want Kate Middleton to replace Prince Andrew as their colonel, it has been reported.
Senior officials have said they want the Duchess of Cambridge to take on the role after the Duke of York was axed from the position this month.
Kate would be the first appointed female colonel in the regiment’s 366-year history if she were to take on the role.
And she would replace disgraced Prince Andrew who was stripped of his military patronages over allegations he sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre – something he has always strongly denied.
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.
“Everything she has taken on she really commits to and we want someone who will really engage with us.”
The appointment is decided by the regiment and the Queen, 95, who has so far taken on Andrew’s role by default.
But it is understood the announcement about the new colonel role has been delayed.
A military source told The Times the name of the new colonel was “due to have been announced on Monday” but it “wasn’t the Duchess of Cambridge”.
“That it wasn’t announced means they have been thinking about it again,” the source added.
Andrew, 61, became colonel-in-chief of the Grenadier Guards in 2017 after inheriting the position from the Duke of Edinburgh.
Among his eight other military honours were Honorary air commodore of RAF Lossiemouth and Deputy colonel-in-chief of The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeth’s Own).
And it is now believed he could lose his 24-hour police security and bodyguards too as he is “not a working royal”.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement earlier this month: “With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen.
“The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”
