The Queen's military appointments and her loyalty to the Gurkhas

  • Meridian

  • Mel Bloor reports on the Queen's many military appointments and honorary ranks and her strong connection to the Gurkhas

As Sovereign, the Queen was head of all of the Armed Forces.

In 1945, as Princess Elizabeth, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service making her the first female member of the Royal family to join the armed services as a full-time active member.

It was during her time there, she learnt to drive and maintain army vehicles. 

Having served the British Crown for more than 200 years, the Gurkhas were held in high esteem by the Queen.

Their loyalty and dedication traits her Majesty was keen to recognise.

At her request, Gurkha Orderley Officers escorted the Queen and stood guard as she awarded honours at Windsor Castle.

A role performed proudly by Prem Ale - a former major in the Maidstone-based Queen's Gurkha Engineers.

"As a hill boy from a remote part of Nepal, to be selected for the Queen's Gurkha Orderley Officers from the number of senior Gurkha officers to represent that duty it was  just my wildest dream.

When I met her she was always very calm and kind. It is very sad indeed to lose her because she has always been in the forefront of the Gurkhas and she always looked after Gurkhas and she always cared about the Gurkhas and their families."

Daren Bowyer, Director of the Gurkha Musuem in Winchester, also met the Queen on a number of occasions and says her affiliation with the Gurkhas began early on in her reign.

"If we think when she came to the throne in 1952, it's only five years on from the granting of independence to India.

At that stage ten of the Gurkha regiments in the British Indian Army - six of them stayed in India as part of the newly independent Indian Army and four of them became part of the British Army. Of those four, two already had Royal titles.

The 2nd were King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles and the 10th were Princess Mary's Own and the 6th and the 7th didn't have a Royal title and as early as 1959, the Queen bestowed on them on the 6th the title Queen Elizabeth II's Own and on the 7th, The Duke of Edinburgh's Own so those are real indications of how important she thought that affiliation was."

The Queen maintained a strong connection to the Gurkhas throughout her lifetime and will be remembered by them with the greatest affection.