Who became the first royal Brownie in 1937?

Princess Margaret became the first royal Brownie in 1937.

The milestone occurred when the 1st Buckingham Palace Guide Company and its Brownie Pack were established for Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister, Princess Margaret. Elizabeth was old enough to join the Guides, while Margaret was initially too young and therefore participated as a Brownie.

The Brownie section had begun in Britain as the Rosebuds in 1914 and was renamed Brownies soon afterward. Its purpose was to provide a younger age group for girls who were not yet old enough to become Guides. The name came from Juliana Horatia Ewing’s 1870 story “The Brownies,” in which children learn that they can be helpful rather than lazy.

A common mix-up is to credit Princess Elizabeth, because she also joined the Buckingham Palace company in 1937 and later became Queen Elizabeth II. However, she was the first royal Guide in that group; Margaret was the first royal Brownie. Princess Anne joined a later Buckingham Palace Brownie Pack in 1959.