Royal Navy appoints second female Rear Admiral

The Royal Navy has appointed its second female Rear Admiral.

Surgeon Rear Admiral Fleur Marshall, the head of the Royal Navy Medical Service, was promoted to the rank, having previously served as Surgeon Commodore.

The Navy's first female Rear Admiral, Jude Terry, congratulated RAdm Marshall on being promoted to the two-star rank on Twitter.

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"And then there were 2!! Congrats to my #Amazing friend and colleague @SrgCdreMarshall on becoming Surgeon Rear Admiral today," she tweeted.

"#Proud to have known you for nearly 25 years."

The replies and comments to RAdm Terry’s tweet were filled with further congratulatory messages for Surgeon Rear Admiral Marshall.

Rear Admiral is one of the most senior ranks in the Navy, with officers who reach the position typically having their own flag flying on a ship and being responsible for an entire capability within the service.

RAdm Terry, who is currently the Director of People and Training for the Royal Navy, became the first woman to hold the rank in 2021.

At the time of being appointed to the rank, she said: "The Navy genuinely doesn't look at your gender and is an equal opportunities employer – it wants you to be part of a team and deliver outputs to support operations."