Magistrates remanded Connor Brayley, a soldier from the 1st Battalion of the Coldstream Guards, in custody.

The 24-year-old is accused of raping a woman in a park in Windsor, Berkshire, on December 14. She was attacked as she walked home through an underpass in Bachelor’s Acre in the town centre at about 2am.

The victim, aged in her 20s, managed to flee and raise the alarm.

Police raced to the scene and began an immediate forensic search of the area between the park and the castle, where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are to marry next summer.

Brayley, of Sheet Street, Windsor, was later arrested the following day and charged with two counts of rape.

The next day he appeared before Reading magistrates who referred the case to Reading Crown Court, where Brayley will appear on January 8.

A spokesman for Thames Valley police said: “A man has been charged with two counts of rape.”

The Coldstream Guards is the oldest regular British Army regiment in continuous existence.

It was started in 1650 as part of Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army and has served in every major conflict since, including the Napoleonic and American Revolutionary wars.

Thirteen Coldstream Guards have been awarded the Victoria Cross and one the George Cross.

The Coldstream Guards is one of the seven regiments in the Household Division, the personal troops of the Queen.