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Woman To Become Tower Of London Beefeater LONDON (Associated Press) -
The Beefeater job is going co-ed.

After 500 years as a males-only profession, the Tower of London is getting its first female guard.

A tower spokeswoman says they're now in the process of hiring the female Yeoman Warder who beat out five males for the job.

Her name hasn't been released yet but the spokeswoman says she's a member of Britain's armed forces who will start her new job at the end of the summer.

Warders initially had the job of providing security for the 900-year-old fortress. However, the uniformed guards now spend most of their days maneuvering tourists around the castle and posing for pictures.

They were nicknamed Beefeaters because of the meat rations they were given during medieval times.

© Copyright 2012, Associated Press