To wonder if Prince George's body guards get bored spending every day at Primary school

[Butterfly98]

Firstly I'm assuming Prince George has body guards with him at all times including during school hours. Do you think after a while it gets a bit boring especially spending all week at a Primary school, I mean what do they do all day? I guess they rotate days with guarding other royals for some variety. Do the royals ever have any privacy to themselves or is there always someone standing guard outside the door (and listening to arguments!) even at home?

Ah great story @wineoclockthanks! For some reason I imagine your neighbour Mrs H to look and sound like Hilda Ogden from Corrie!

Prine Edward's bodyguard went everywhere with him when he was at Cambridge and everyone fancied the policeman more than Edward! He went to my friends hall of residence room and looked longingly at her photos of inter-railing and said 'I'd never be allowed to do that."

I assumed the protection officers stayed in the school or directly outside the classroom door but not in the actual classroom!

Probably not as boring as being the security team for Tony Blair or David Cameron though.

There's a fantastic film called the Student Prince: a fictional son of the Queen at Cambridge, with Robson Green and Rupert Penry-Jones, based on Prince Edward's experiences at university.

The bodyguard from the north of England is not pleased to be "promoted" to this position, being from an anti-royalist family. At first he and the prince are hopelessly mismatched, and argue a lot.

Prince: But what about my responsibilities?
Bodyguard: To what?! To being waited on hand and foot, to living in palaces, to never doing a day's work in your life?

They are both derided by the other students and staff alike "do you realise you're taking the place of an ordinary kid, twice as bright as you?". The prince is only there because he's expected to be, and the bodyguard ends up doing most of the prince's work for him, after the master has gleefully threatened to "kick out a member of the royal family from this venerable institution". By the end, the bodyguard is saying to the prince "I'm going to miss you, I never thought I'd say that".

@ImNotNigel Regarding the security cameras, you cannot see them so would not know they are there.

And there's a moment when the bodyguard (completely naked) pulls his gun on the middle-aged cleaning lady.

@wanderings sounds like a good film, I'm going to see if it's on Netflix

Imagine teaching someone knowing one day they will be your king or your children’s king. It’s fascinating.

100percent - a friend of my parents taught both William and Harry history, he said he was glad he wasn't covering the British monarchy as it would have felt a bit odd, essentially teaching someone their family tree.

There was a minor royal at my university. His bodyguards had a room next to him in halls. When he moved out to a house, bullet proof glass was installed, along with cameras. The bodyguards were armed.
He did turn up at a friend's party minus security (and very drunk) once, so I don't know what happened there!

Perhaps the guards have qualified as classroom assistants and are kept busy with marking books and photocopying homework sheets.

An african king and his children used to be regular clients of mine. Used to fascinate me. They all had a ladies maid each who scurried behind them carrying things, they didnt touch anything and 2 body guards each. Whenever they left a building. Not sure how legal. But they would road block the street. Then the car they where in would have 2 cars in front and behind and a convoy of bikes either side. Seemed a bit ecessive by anyones standard. But he is a dictator so imagine a very wanted man.

I used to talk to some of their close protection team. Alot of them where malasian. One of the guys said he hadnt seen his own children in 2 years. Due to logistics they didnt get holidays or time off. But the pay was amaizing so most of them would do a job for couple years save up go home with the money. Take some time off. Then have a break for a bit and go off to work again.

Seemed a very sad life....

We got talking to Prince Edward’s protection officer once, about 25 years ago. We were staying at a country hotel and PE was doing some DofE awards thing in the area and our hotel was hosting the reception afterwards. We didn’t know this at time of booking. Had a lovely chat with the protection officer in the hotel garden. Very pleasant chap.

The DC of very wealthy parents are also a potential target wherever they go. There is money to be made from kidnapping.

I believe JK Rowling employs personal security for her family. A celebrity might be at risk from a demented fan/stalker as much as kidnapping of a child. Wouldn't be surprised if the Beckhams do, too. Wasn't there a threat against Victoria once?

Must be more difficult for someone like JKR or the Beckhams or Kate, who grew up ordinary, to have to get accustomed to it in adult life, than for those born royal, who have never known any different.

I think an account of a female bodyguard has been made into a film on Netflix - with Noomi Rapace (I think). I read about it after the Bodyguard show was on.

A member of the royal family came to my office once. He and his bodyguard both arrived on motorbikes in leathers and took their helmets off only as they entered reception; they were ushered directly into my lift so they were out of sight of the doors before anyone would have known who they were. They both said hello pleasantly to the others of us in the lift, both laughed about the traffic with the person escorting them and from what I heard were pleasant throughout their visit. The bodyguard was clearly looking around and alert, but they were close in age and acted like good friends. Maybe it was more relaxed because they had a clear and safe plan.

They will have a system, external high security for the school, security cameras, and somewhere for security to drink countless cups of tea, I suspect they do rotate a fair amount as they work shifts. They have other high profile kids at that school too. School trips could get interesting, I do feel for the kids because it must be hard not being able to do ordinary things, they looked so happy playing in the garden at Chelsea. If it wasn't a major security threat in pretty sure the younger royals would choose to live differently but they don't have a choice, they are a major terrorist target. They are privileged beyond imagination but I think they would prefer to be able just to live their lives

My dad worked CP for a well known wealthy family. He worked a week on and a week off.
He didn't go into schools but would pick the child up, there were more children but they never got picked up together.

All the CP guys waited for their details for the day, they weren't always with the children.
My dad felt sorry for the children. If the oldest bit, who he looked after the most, wanted to go out for a burger my dad had to go with him and sit with him. He thought it was very lonely for the children.

Boy not bit

I have also heard the story of the bodyguard who started off bored at university but ended up taking notes and being really interested in the topic (but not to the extent of taking a degree) in relation to the new Emperor of Japan at Oxford.

It would be highly inappropriate for the security to "join in" or anything like that. They're not there for a laugh, or just hanging around bored, they need to be focussed on their job 100%.

They won't be bored- primary schools are hilarious!

DP did a day's work next to a reception class (carpentry ) . He said it was indeed hilarious!

Lots of children gathered round him, initially talking about him " what's that man building?" " He's making a castle" etc and then, later on, talking to him and telling him random unrelated things like "I had sausages for tea" or "I've got a guinea pig".

There's no way a bodyguard would go unnoticed. They would be interrogated by the children and told all about how the children's mum likes wine/that Johnny picks his nose/their favourite socks are yellow etc

This thread is so interesting!

I was at uni the same time as one of the York princesses, pretty sure I rememeber she had security in both the neighbouring houses of the terrace when she moved out into student houses.

I’ve never thought of that. A child at ds old school had a bloody cavalcade driving him to school and a load of bodyguards (who were lovely) who used to basically drag this child around (he was perfectly able bodied but seemed to prefer to be glided along by his guards or carried up the stairs). They all wore a button badge with the child’s face on it.

I never saw them during that day though but assume there must have been some around.

This thread is hilarious!

I've read an article on the school protection possibly DM and I think they sit in another room watching their charge on TV monitors. I much prefer the thought of them sitting on a small chair getting covered in glitter or learning a song (would they get a part in the Christmas Play, I wonder?).

We used to get visitors with security details occasionally in one of my previous jobs. Mossad always looked pretty scary and armed

Loving the little chairs!