An Army officer who became the first woman to be commissioned into a prestigious cavalry regiment has died in a car crash.
Captain Lizzie Godwin, 28, made history when she took part in state ceremonial duties with the Life Guards.
She played a leading role in the state funeral of Her Late Majesty the Queen and the coronation of His Majesty the King.
The groundbreaking Household Cavalry officer also earned the Sword of Honour as the most impressive officer from her intake at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
A statement on the Household Cavalry’s Facebook page described her as ‘an utterly dedicated officer who worked tirelessly and always for the good of her soldiers’.
The tribute continued: ‘Lizzie will be remembered as a truly kind, selfless and committed friend to all – seeking opportunities even in the most difficult of circumstances.
‘She embodied servant leadership and everything it is to be a Household Cavalry officer.
‘As we grieve the loss of Lizzie, we kindly ask for privacy for her family and friends.’
Captain Elizabeth Goodwin, 28, was the first female army officer to serve in the Household Cavalry
Cpt Goodwin played a leading role in the state funeral of Her Late Majesty the Queen and the coronation of His Majesty the King
Friends told The Sun she was driving home when her car collided with another in Surrey on Friday night.
After growing up in Devon, Cpt Goodwin received a military scholarship and studied nursing at King’s College London while serving in the Army Reserves.
She also balanced her studying with shifts at Great Ormond Street.
‘I’d get back from a night shift,’ she told Tatler. ‘My flatmates would be getting up for their lectures and I would have just resuscitated somebody. It was a super-bizarre university experience, but so interesting.’
Cpt Goodwin began her role with the Household Cavalry in Bulford before joining the Mounted Regiment in London.
She previously revealed how her mother had convinced her to join the Forces – an opportunity which had not been available to previous generations of women in her family.
She said: ‘My grandmother grew up in and around the Army, she didn’t meet her father until she was four, as he was serving in Egypt, Gibraltar and India, so she had quite a disconnected relationship with him.
‘She said to my mother, “Ladies don’t join [the Army].” Women didn’t have the same opportunities then, so for my own mother, it wasn’t really an option. I feel very lucky to be born in this timeframe.’
The Household Cavalry shared a tribute to Cpt Goodwin on social media following her death
Most recently she was serving at the Army Training Regiment in Pirbright, overlooking the next generation of soldiers in their initial stages of army training.
During her five-year military career she also played hockey and polo for the Army, recently winning a trophy for with her Household Cavalry polo team this year.
In previous years she had led a medal winning team in the British Army’s Cambrian Patrol Competition, described as one of the toughest military patrol competitions in the world.
She also planned and commanded a performance in front of 40,000 people at the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen in 2023.
In a letter from The Life Guards, she was described as a ‘talented, resourceful, and compassionate Troop Leader’.
They wrote: History may record Lizzie as the first female officer in the Army’s most senior regiment, but I know she would want to be recalled simply as a tough and talented young officer doing her utmost to serve King and country and to lead and inspire soldiers.
‘Her sudden and untimely death leaves a huge void for all of us in the Household Cavalry family and she will be remembered by us all as a lively, fun and dynamic officer with a very bright future ahead of her.’
