Girlguiding: The Queen’s Guide Award

The Girlguiding organisation has expressed profound sadness at the death of its Patron, Queen Elizabeth II, whose longstanding association with the group dated back 85 years. Her lifelong interest and enthusiasm for Guiding inspired thousands of girls to join and enjoy many adventures and challenges.

The young Princess Elizabeth joined the Guides at the age of 11 in 1937. She was connected to the organisation for the rest of her life. Guiding leaders have spoken of Her Majesty’s “extraordinary devotion to public and voluntary service” since her youth, long before she became the sovereign.

Queen’s long association with Guiding

The Guide Association was established as the girls’ version of the Boy Scouts, launched by Robert Baden-Powell in 1909. At the first Scouts’ rally in London, Baden-Powell met a number of would-be Girl Scouts, who refused to accept the outdoor lifestyle and challenges were “just for boys”.

As a result, his sister, Agnes, launched the Girl Guides as a similar movement to the Boy Scouts. When the young Princess Elizabeth joined the 1st Buckingham Palace Guides at the age of 11, her little sister, Princess Margaret, joined the younger girls’ organisation, the Brownies.

The princesses threw themselves wholeheartedly into the healthy outdoor lifestyle the Guides offered. Princess Elizabeth enjoyed many camping trips and earned several badges including first aid, swimming, horse riding and interpreting. A keen horse rider since being given her first mount at the age of three, the Shetland pony Peggy, Princess Elizabeth thrived as a result of the outdoor lifestyle.

An integral part of the organisation’s lifestyle; the Girlguiding camping badge remains an award earned by modern Guides. To earn the badge, the skills required include lighting campfires, putting up tents and discovering how to cook outdoors.

The Guides enjoy camping, rain or shine. While enjoying life in the great outdoors, they are also taught how to look after the surrounding plants and animals, so the environment around the campsite isn’t harmed.

Patron of Girlguiding

As a young woman just after World War II, Princess Elizabeth then joined the Sea Rangers, spending time on the group’s training ship in 1946 at Dartmouth. She performed regular duties alongside the rest of the women, including scrubbing down the decks. Later that year, she became the Chief Ranger of the British Empire.

In 1953, Her Majesty the Queen became the Patron of Girlguiding. Thousands of girls and young women in the UK and abroad have risen to the challenge of achieving their Queen’s Guide Award. This is the highest Guiding award available and is held in the highest esteem.

Over the decades, since Elizabeth joined the organisation as a child, Girlguiding’s programme of activities and badges has changed. The activities and skills reflect the way the world and the life of girls and women have evolved. However, the key elements of Girlguiding remain constant – the friendship, fun and adventure that Princess Elizabeth loved as a child are still enjoyed by thousands of girls in Guiding today.

Royal family’s interest in Guiding

Other members of the royal family have also taken an interest in Girlguiding. In 1959, following in her mother’s footsteps, Princess Anne joined the 1st Buckingham Palace Guides.

The late Princess Diana always took a keen interest in Girlguiding, visiting many troupes following her marriage to Charles in 1981. Throughout the 1980s, she visited Guides’ groups across the UK, chatting to them about their endeavours and challenges.

In 2017, a Guide from Moss Vale Girl Guides in Australia, Amelia Brook, won the Princess Diana Award on the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death. The awards celebrate young role models who work hard to transform other people’s lives.

Tribute to the Queen

Following the sad news of Queen Elizabeth’s death at the age of 96, Girlguiding’s board of trustees and Chief Guide issued a joint statement, saying Her Majesty had “embodied the spirit of guiding”. The Queen lived a lifestyle true to Girlguiding’s pledge, namely, to live according to her beliefs, to do her best and to serve people.

Her “dedication and service” as the UK’s longest-reigning monarch had “inspired all girls and young women” involved in Guiding to serve their communities, including in the UK and overseas. In her honour, the organisation has pledged to continue to uphold Her Majesty’s legacy for future generations.

The moving tribute remembered the “support and friendship” the Queen had always bestowed as the Patron of Girlguiding, which would never be forgotten, as she was a “truly inspirational Guide”.