These Royal rodents have made their presence known in the guard room of the globally renowned castle, prompting the call for pest control professionals.
It appears that the rat issue surfaced several weeks ago, with some soldiers alleging that the rats attempted to bite them.
The situation escalated over the weekend during a shift change of the guards, leading to the placement of rat traps, reports the Mirror . The soldiers currently safeguarding the King are from the 1st Battalion, The Welsh Guards.
A military source said: "A team of Guards was briefed over the weekend about the rat infestation shortly after the current team took over. Before the current Guards took over duty, the previous incumbents had trouble with these rats ."
"They have been crawling around trying to bite people. Since pest control has been here they have put down traps but it hasn't done anything. This should not be happening as it is a royal residency - if this were anywhere else like a hotel, a school or a workplace it would be shut down."
"People pay money to come to this castle. And the troops shouldn't have to be living in a room filled with rats ."
Sources have indicated that the rat nightmare is being "monitored" by pest control experts and is now "under control."
The Ministry of Defence has made a commitment to the welfare of its service personnel, stating: "We are committed to ensuring our service personnel have the high-quality working environments they rightly deserve, with any reports of pests dealt with as quickly as possible."
This statement comes amid revelations of a rat infestation and other issues following 14 years of defence cuts under previous Tory governments, which have led to a substandard working environment for troops.
In response to these concerns, the new government's Defence Secretary John Healey has initiated a major defence review to scrutinize the UK military's current state. Healey is reportedly dedicated to enhancing troop welfare, aiming to boost retention in the Army, which has seen a decline during the Conservative Party's tenure.
Windsor Castle , a historic Royal residence for over 900 years, is one of The King's three official abodes. The prestigious duty of guarding the King traditionally falls to the Household Troops, also known as 'the Guards', who have been performing this role since 1660.
Occasionally, other British Army regiments are granted the honor of guarding the castle. The Guards are comprised of five infantry regiments the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish, and Welsh Guards along with two regiments of the Household Cavalry the Life Guards and Blues and Royals .
Many of these battalions have distinguished themselves in combat, serving in conflict zones like Iraq and Afghanistan.
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