Colonel Erica Bridge: The Army officer making history as the first female Crown Equerry

Colonel Erica Bridge has been chosen by the King and Queen to become the first woman to hold the post of Crown Equerry, one of the most senior operational roles in the royal household. 

The position oversees all royal transport, from ceremonial carriage processions to chauffeur-driven vehicles and the training and care of the horses and staff based at the Royal Mews.

Colonel Bridge currently serves as Defence Attaché at the UK embassy in Rome. A keen horsewoman with more than three decades of Army experience, her career spans operational and ceremonial appointments in the UK and overseas. 

• Royals' guests tell of their time with the King and tea sent to sub crew by the Queen
• Queen Camilla appoints new equerry, who continues a legacy of charity and duty
• Pomp and precision as Household Cavalry welcomes German leader on state visit

In 2007, she became the first female commanding officer of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, having taken part in Trooping the Colour four years earlier. 

She will take up her new post in the spring, succeeding Colonel Toby Browne, who is retiring after 15 years as Crown Equerry. 

Colonel Bridge has already begun preparing for the role, having observed last week's German state visit from inside the Windsor Castle quadrangle.

Royal Mews to leave Buckingham Palace after 200 years

Colonel Bridge's appointment comes as the Royal Mews prepares to relocate from Buckingham Palace to Windsor, ending two centuries at the palace. 

Senior members of the royal family no longer live in the capital. 

Buckingham Palace, currently undergoing a 10-year, £369m renovation, is no longer used as the monarch's residence and is not expected to be reoccupied when work finishes in 2027. 

The Prince and Princess of Wales have also settled permanently on the Windsor estate at Forest Lodge.

What the Crown Equerry oversees

The Crown Equerry is responsible for delivering carriage processions at state occasions, including coronations, Trooping the Colour, Royal Ascot and visits by foreign heads of state. 

The role also covers all chauffeur-driven transport for public engagements, as well as the private cars used by the royal family.

It is a senior operational post central to the planning, movement and presentation of the royal household's transport, horses and ceremonial assets.