First woman Beefeater begins duties as guard

LONDON — The first woman to join the ranks of the Beefeaters in more than 500 years has mastered the Ceremony of the Keys, the nightly locking-up ritual of the Tower of London guards.

But she says she is still learning the bloody history of the site that holds the Crown Jewels to prepare for guiding more than 2 million visitors every year.

Dressed in a knee-length dark blue coat with red trim and matching top hat, Moira Cameron on Monday became the first female Beefeater, or Yeoman Warder, since the corps of Tower guards was founded in 1485. She said the medieval castle is a wonderful place to work.

"You do the job for prestige, and because you meet people every day," she said. She relishes contact with visitors after 22 years of desk work as an army accountant.

The Tower was founded by King William I shortly after he conquered England in 1066. Henry III started his coronation procession from the site in 1236, a royal tradition that persisted into the 17th century. The fortress is also home to Britain's Crown Jewels including St. Edward's Crown, worn by Queen Elizabeth II during her 1953 coronation.

Cameron, 42, started dreaming of a job in the Tower after six years in the army. But back then, she doubted whether she would last the minimum of 22 years' service required to apply.

While there was never any formal ban on female Beefeaters, Britain's Ministry of Defense said it was only recently that many women, who can now count maternity leave as part of their service in the forces, were notching up as many years as men.

Chief Yeoman Warder John Keohane said the guards had anticipated that a woman would one day join their ranks.

"She's been here for two months and been accepted by the community," Keohane said.

Cameron, who was chosen in December and has been training at the Tower since July, said only one visitor had expressed strong objections to her appointment.

Cameron says she is still learning the rich history of the Tower.

Famous prisoners have included Sir Walter Raleigh, three times; Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up Parliament; Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess; Roger Casement, later executed for his role in plotting an Irish uprising during World War I; Samuel Pepys, the diarist accused of selling naval secrets to the French; and Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth I.

Two wives of Henry VIII — Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard — were beheaded at the Tower.

The Beefeater nickname is thought to derive from the guards' former privilege of having their fill of beef from the king's table. Formally, they are Yeoman Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary.