Altering the centuries old tradition, nine female soldiers have reportedly been posted at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle in London on Sunday, a ceremonial role that was earlier reserved exclusively for men.

Five women from the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery and four more women from the Army Air Corps reported for duty at the palace for the first time ever thus marking a breakthrough for women in the British Army.

According to This Is London news, the women soldiers are equipped with ceremonial swords and form part of a 20-strong team from the King's Troop that has been tasked to guard the castle for 24 hours for the next month.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said "Normally, these duties are done by resident infantry battalions in London but there have been occasions when other units have filled in."

"At the moment one of the units is on its way to Afghanistan and another one is actually on training and one has just come back from Bosnia so we asked for support from the King's Troop," he added.

The Royal Army Air Corps troops were led in the palace by Captain Chloe in London. The soldiers stood proudly alongside their male counterparts.