Kate Middleton is wanted by the Grenadier Guards to replace the disgraced Prince Andrew as their colonel

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 up the role after the Duke of York was expelled from the post this month.

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Kate will be the first appointed female colonel in the regiment’s 366-year history if she takes up the role.

And she will replace the disgraced Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his military patronage over allegations he sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre – which he has always strongly denied.

A senior source in the Grenadier Guard told The Times: “From polling the ranks, they all love being Kate.

“We all admired the way she mingled and behaved, she never seemed to put a foot wrong.

“Everything she’s taken on, she’s really committed and we want someone who’s really going to stick with us.”

The appointment is decided by the regiment and the Queen, 95, who has so far defaulted to Andrew’s role.

But it is understood that the announcement of the new colonel role has been delayed.

A military source told The Times that the new colonel’s name was “expected to be announced on Monday” but it was “not the Duchess of Cambridge”.

“The fact that it hasn’t been published means they’ve been thinking about it again,” the source added.

Andrew, 61, became a colonel of the Grenadier Guards in 2017 after inheriting the post from the Duke of Edinburgh.

Among his other eight military titles were the honorary aviation of RAF Lossiemouth and Deputy Colonel of The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeth’s Own).

And now it is believed he could lose his 24-hour police security and bodyguards because he is “not a working royal”.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement earlier this month: “With the approval and consent of the Queen, the military branches of the Duke of York and Royal patronages have been returned to the Queen.

“The Duke of York will continue to not perform any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”

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