Queen Elizabeth II is the longest serving British monarch and is the current longest
serving monarch in the world.
Since she took the throne in 1952, much has changed in the UK.
You could say the British people are not on the whole as enamored with the royal family
as they were when she took the throne, but despite polls in 2018 revealing that two-thirds
of the British public were not interested in the royal wedding, it seems for the most
part people are not interested in getting rid of their royals.
We can only find one instance when someone planned to take out the queen, and that was
only revealed years later when declassified spy papers told us a New Zealand teenager
had planned to do just that in 1981.
So what do the Queen’s guard do with themselves all day?
Welcome to this episode of the Infographics Show, What Does the Queens Guard Actually
Do?
If you saw our show titled, “How much protection does the royal family get?” you’ll know
that the royal family has around-the-clock protection and that comes in many forms.
We are not just talking about the main royals that we all know, but the many other members
of this family.
The queen might be supported by her guards, but you have other outfits such as Scotland
Yard’s Royalty and Specialist Protection service also offering armed protection when
she is at home and when she goes on the road.
While it seems the royals don’t have many enemies, who knows if someone is willing to
spend years in prison for their five minutes of fame.
The most worrying concern for those who protect the queen is when she is out in public.
That’s why when you see her driving down the street she will be surrounded by an armed
and very skilled Special Escort Group.
So, with this in mind, does she really need a Queen’s Guard?
First of all, you all likely know who we are talking about when we say the queen’s guard
since you’ve all seen pictures of those men that wear those large furry hats and dress
in red and black.
These people are not just for show, however, and they fill a role in protecting the queen.
The guard is made up of infantry and cavalry soldiers and they work in what’s called
the Household Division.
That means you’ll find them doing their duty at Buckingham Palace, St. James’s Palace,
Windsor Castle and some other places.
One source tells us that the queen spends most of her time at Buckingham Palace, although
she goes to Windsor Castle most weekends, visits Balmoral Castle in Scotland for long
periods of time, and for Christmas often visits Sandringham House in Norfolk.
We are told that the queen’s guard is mainly split into two parts, and those two parts
will be posted at either Buckingham Palace or St James's Palace.
When the queen is staying at Buckingham palace there are usually three officers working there
as well as a forty other ranks.
There will also be four sentries at the palace.
They work night and day, sometimes staying in one spot while others will walk around
the grounds.
The foot guards might be part of the Grenadier Guards, The Scots Guards, the Irish Guards,
the Welsh Guards or the Coldstream Guards.
If you visit Buckingham Palace at the right time you might actually see the changing of
the guard.
Ok, so now we should ask if these guys ever have any trouble?
In the past the guards did have a few run-ins with a disgruntled public, but for the most
part in modern times they have not really been tested.
Perhaps the biggest case, and some blushes for the guards, was when a man called Michael
Fagan managed to get past them in 1982 and believe it or not get into the queen’s bedroom.
This was a huge thing back in the day.
Some sources, maybe not that reliable, say that Fagan only did it because he had been
in the pub with friends and he had bet them five pounds that he could get into the queen’s
bedroom.
He managed to scale a wall, climb up a drain pipe, and then it’s said by sheer luck he
ended up on the balcony outside the right bedroom.
There are after all many bedrooms in Buckingham Palace.
Stories differ as to what happened next, with some reports saying the queen was startled
and Fagan said to her, “Relax, sister.
You don't have to worry.
I'm Irish.”
We doubt the veracity of this source, though.
Other reports say he just left the room and was subsequently apprehended by police who
probably should have been on the scene sooner.
He was not charged for trespassing, but for stealing some royal wine.
In the end he was sent to a psychiatric hospital.
After hearing this, you might be wondering where the queen’s guard were, but the guards
were already beaten as they remain outside the palace.
The fault was theirs, but also the police officer that was supposed to be guarding her
room.
The sentry job sounds kind of boring, as they just stand there for long periods of time.
We are told that they have the order: “You may not eat, sleep, smoke, stand easy, sit
or lie down during your tour of duty.”
In a two-hour period, every 10 minutes they will pace back and forth where they are stationed.
This can be amusing for tourists as the sentries look so serious.
Tourists in the past have gotten in the way of the sentry and if that happened he would
shout, “Make way for the Queen's Guard!”
He might also shout, “Stand back from the Queen's Guard.”
If that isn’t heeded, he is then forced to point his rifle at you.
Unfortunately, some members of the public, mostly tourists, still get in these guards’
way and so their posts have largely been removed from where they could be interfered with.
In an interview, one guard said that being tormented by tourists was starting to take
its toll and he was glad their posts were now in a place where the public couldn’t
get too close.
He told Stars and Stripes in the U.S.
“It's about time.
We've had enough of that lot.
They'd stick pins in you, some of them.”
Another guard said it was fine that people wanted photos and even got up close, but he
said some tourists would throw banana skins in their path, while others would stick oranges
on their bayonets or pull their bearskin busby hats.
That same guard said this, which doesn’t sound all that bad, “Women sometimes come
up and try to hold hands.
Lots of women slip things into our pocket when we're wearing greatcoats.
Things like addresses and telephone numbers.”
The Australian media in 2018 said people must be aware that while the guards may seem unshakable,
if someone really does annoy them or becomes too much of a nuisance, they will react.
Still, one guardsman said most of the time their weapons are not loaded.
“You only carry live rounds if there is a high threat level that someone will attack,”
he said.
“But I have never carried any.”
According to him, they must look serious at all times.
If they are caught laughing or even chatting with a tourists, he said they are liable to
be fined around $355.
“You are allowed to get them away by shouting warnings at them,” the guard said.
“If they fail to move away or start to act aggressively, we present our bayonets... to
remind them that we can do more harm than them.”
Another thing is, all that standing can be hard work and some guards have been known
to pass out.
If they think they are going to faint it’s said they have to do that in a disciplined
way.
It’s called a faint to attention.
“You have to faint to attention,” a Major Dai Bevan of the Welsh Guards told the Times
newspaper.
“It will probably involve a broken nose and a whole lot of missing teeth.”
You can find photos online of what this looks like.
But it seems they also have some fun.
An article in Buzzfeed which took information from former guards tells us they would give
each other funny or sometimes insulting nicknames.
They would act around, too, with one guard saying if they got chance to sit on the throne,
they would do it and take a selfie.
“If you get a chance to sit on the throne of England you aren't going to pass it up”
he said.
Other documents say some guards would allow their friends to park in St. James’s palace
while another document says some guards would sneak the lady friends of Prince Andrew into
the palace.
So, while they might look inhuman to the tourist, they are certainly not unlike any of the rest
of us.
In a Reddit Q&A a guard talked about many aspects of his work, saying if you want to
be one them you must pass a few tests and also have your smarts about you.
He also said it helps to be tall.
He said that while much of what they do is ceremonial, they are also security.
He just added that if things do turn awry police are usually there as backup.
Asked if he had ever spoken to the queen, he replied, “Yeah, when I was on guard at
Windsor Castle, she came up to me with her husband and the dogs and asked me some questions;
she’s really nice.”
He seemed to like his job, saying only occasionally people would try and annoy him.
Although he did say on any given day about 200 tourists would try and make him laugh.
He also said the job gets tiresome, so you have to amuse yourself.
“When I’m really bored, I like to mess peoples’ pictures up; when a load of Asian
tourists came and set up a huge picture I waited until the camera man was counting down
to take the pic then marched up and down my post until they all left.”
He also said that sometimes, perhaps the most embarrassing times, is when a guard needs
to urinate but has nowhere to go.
He said occasionally you will see a puddle underneath
a guard’s feet.
So, do you
think you could handle being a queen’s guard?
Do you think you would end up laughing or losing your temper?
Also, be sure to check out our other video How Protected Is The British Royal Family?.
Thanks for watching, and as always, don’t forget to like, share and subscribe.
See you next time.