This is one of those questions where the answer is both yes and no. No, we don’t pledge or swear allegiance in Girlguiding. We make a Promise and part of that Promise is to serve the Queen or King.
Certainly in future, if anyone makes or renews their Promise, they will now promise “to serve the King and my community”. I intend for my units to renew their Promise when we go back to meetings next week and it’ll be a good time to explain again exactly what the Promise actually means.
It’s been a bit of a question for a very long time. I myself, aged seven, had this page in my Brownie handbook:
“I can’t serve the Queen. I don’t live anywhere near Buckingham Palace,” a new Brownie was once heard to wail, and she was happy to find that serving the Queen didn’t mean washing Palace windows or vacuuming Palace carpets.
She could keep the second part of her Promise without leaving her home town.
Can you think how?
The answer is quite simply really. Our Queen works hard to make our country and all the countries of which she is Queen or Head happy places for people to live. Serving the Queen means helping her with this work. It means looking round your area to see what needs to be done. Is there litter in the park? Are there old people who feel lonely?
If you were to ask these Brownies [pictured in the handbook] what they were doing, they might say “We’re visiting our friends in Riverside House,” and that answer would be right. But they could also say “We’re serving the Queen,” and that answer would be right too.
When Brownies help other people they serve the Queen at the same time.
You’re Promising to serve the Queen or the King as a symbol of your country, or your area, or your community. It’s not specifically the Queen or King and it’s certainly not specifically Elizabeth or Charles.
I promise that I will do my best
To be true to myself and develop my beliefs
To serve the King and my community
To help other people
And to keep the Guide Law.
The Internet's Brown Owl 
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