Royal guard video kicking child in the way

[DickMabutt73962]

I wasn't born and raised in the UK and am not into the culture of 'tradition' but I don't understand the majority of reactions to this video blaming the parent and saying of the guards 'it's their job'.

Can anyone more enlightened explain to me why this was necessary? As far as I can see the guard is marching, not saving London from attack. I don't see why a side-step wouldn't work. And if this is a register thing then maybe future control of how close members of the public are able to get in their path

www.indy100.com/viral/queen-royal-guard-trampled-kid-tiktok-video-b1983965

They are working soldiers and on one version I've seen get out the way is shouted.

Entirely the parents fault. We are in high level alert for terrorism. What if it had been some sort of distraction tactic?

I noted you cut out the part of my post that stated, they aren't the queen's body guards, that's what the close protection team are. Those CCTV watching people you refer too.

Queen's guard in the tower of London are guarding the tower not the monarch. They are not risking a head injury because their head dress falls off, no more than a paratrooper who's beret comes off. Helmets are worn in war zones where live amunition is highly likely. I mean if you want to see the queen's guard in combat gear, body plates and helmets then fine. But I think they'd prefer the uniform they have on now which is functional and they can perform their duties in.

The guards are also changed, every year. At horse guards parade during the monarchs birthday.

You have Irish guards, Welsh Guards, Scottish guards they rotate between ceremonial and asset guarding and then combat. You do know that "the guards" have been deployed to Afghanistan? It's not always the same regiment as such.

Thank you, I am aware of the various duties and postings of the Guards. My father and grandfather were officers in branches of the forces, as was an uncle of my grandmother's.
@WorraLiberty - these individuals ^^ were all Irish, as am I.

If there were ever any serious armed threat to the royal residences or installations, it would be detected by CCTV and dealt with by rooftop snipers, not the dressed-up-for-PA-purposes Guards. It's a ceremonial uniform, not a combat uniform.

@LampLighter414

It is understood that the guard are there for a serious reason. Everyone knows that.

However the decision has also been made to open areas to tourists or have them walk on public land. You would think if there are serving military members who must have clear and direct routes to march along, perhaps these should not be in areas open to tourists or in public spaces?

Why they can't apply common sense is beyond me rather than sticking to archaic hundreds of year old rules for 'tradition' only. It makes them no better at doing their actual job or duties.

Ultimately these guards as part of their job are expected to knock random people over. Rather than just apply common sense and walk around any loose individuals. I'm sure they don't enjoy it.

I blame the military and royals for sticking to all this archaic (and pointless) BS rules. They could easily be flexed in areas where the public are.

I completely agree. Culture is dynamic and accommodations should be made if the area is open to tourists. A simple risk assessment would suggest a clearly demarcated route for marching that is inaccessible to members of the public, to avoid this kind of situation.

What is the excuse when both parent and child are hard of hearing? Still their fault? I used to have blackouts without any warning and could have potentially passed out in their path. Still my fault? If so, that is a very narrow and ableist way of looking at things, when simple modifications can make the situation safer for all involved.

If making accommodations is too much then dont make the area accessible to tourists at all. It is disingenous to suggest the guards are not a tourist attraction.

I haven’t been conditioned or treated like dirt at all.

If you honestly believe that soldiers have any business marching around in public streets where they could knock over small children who get in their way, then yes, you have been conditioned.

And soldiers marching around in streets where there are members of the public, trained to keep going regardless of human obstacles in their path are trained to treat civilians like mere objects.

They can't! The child and parents were totally ignorant and in the wrong.

@TrashyPanda

Try crossing a road during an Orange March.

Makes that look a kiss on the cheek!

I agree the parents should have kept their kid out of the way.

So true. Have to dart out between lodges and hope you don't get bashed round he head with a band pole on the way

@mathanxiety

I noted you cut out the part of my post that stated, they aren't the queen's body guards, that's what the close protection team are. Those CCTV watching people you refer too.

Queen's guard in the tower of London are guarding the tower not the monarch. They are not risking a head injury because their head dress falls off, no more than a paratrooper who's beret comes off. Helmets are worn in war zones where live amunition is highly likely. I mean if you want to see the queen's guard in combat gear, body plates and helmets then fine. But I think they'd prefer the uniform they have on now which is functional and they can perform their duties in.

The guards are also changed, every year. At horse guards parade during the monarchs birthday.

You have Irish guards, Welsh Guards, Scottish guards they rotate between ceremonial and asset guarding and then combat. You do know that "the guards" have been deployed to Afghanistan? It's not always the same regiment as such.

Thank you, I am aware of the various duties and postings of the Guards. My father and grandfather were officers in branches of the forces, as was an uncle of my grandmother's.
@WorraLiberty - these individuals ^^ were all Irish, as am I.

If there were ever any serious armed threat to the royal residences or installations, it would be detected by CCTV and dealt with by rooftop snipers, not the dressed-up-for-PA-purposes Guards. It's a ceremonial uniform, not a combat uniform.

A ceremonial uniform can also be worn during combat. You can do pretty much anything in a greatcoat with a rifle or a bayonet. QLG are there to protect state property and servants, not just the Queen.

The guards are regularly provoked by tourists who seem to think they are not actually soldiers on duty and are there to have a bit of fun with or actually provoke by touching, challenging. They are armed soldiers on duty and will not 'play' or 'mess about'. Marching guards march in tandem in direct, straight lines, not march around people. The parents should have been showing their children how to behave with respect to the guards. The guard did try to step over him rather than on him and apparently did go back to check he was ok.

I agree OP. SMH; it had to be a little Black boy.

completely agree. Culture is dynamic and accommodations should be made if the area is open to tourists. A simple risk assessment would suggest a clearly demarcated route for marching that is inaccessible to members of the public, to avoid this kind of situation.

Have you ever been to the Tower? Guards need to be able to come and go from every direction and unless you stop visitors from accessing the jewel house etc, then you just can’t do that.

What is wrong with expecting adults to take responsibility for themselves and their children? Why are we treating people like they are incapable of opening their eyes and taking notice of what’s going on around them?

@EddyF

I agree OP. SMH; it had to be a little Black boy.

What do you mean ?

Parents fault entirely

@mathanxiety

I noted you cut out the part of my post that stated, they aren't the queen's body guards, that's what the close protection team are. Those CCTV watching people you refer too.

Queen's guard in the tower of London are guarding the tower not the monarch. They are not risking a head injury because their head dress falls off, no more than a paratrooper who's beret comes off. Helmets are worn in war zones where live amunition is highly likely. I mean if you want to see the queen's guard in combat gear, body plates and helmets then fine. But I think they'd prefer the uniform they have on now which is functional and they can perform their duties in.

The guards are also changed, every year. At horse guards parade during the monarchs birthday.

You have Irish guards, Welsh Guards, Scottish guards they rotate between ceremonial and asset guarding and then combat. You do know that "the guards" have been deployed to Afghanistan? It's not always the same regiment as such.

Thank you, I am aware of the various duties and postings of the Guards. My father and grandfather were officers in branches of the forces, as was an uncle of my grandmother's.
@WorraLiberty - these individuals ^^ were all Irish, as am I.

If there were ever any serious armed threat to the royal residences or installations, it would be detected by CCTV and dealt with by rooftop snipers, not the dressed-up-for-PA-purposes Guards. It's a ceremonial uniform, not a combat uniform.

Hang on you think there are rooftop snipers at the tower of London every day? 😳 I mean, I hate to burst your bubble, but there are not snipers on stag on a rooftop every day and hour. What a fucking shit posting that would be 😂

But you know who are there every day and every hour....the guards, in their functional uniform and not combat gear because last I checked London wasn't an active war zone 😂

But anyways, we will agree to disagree. You think guards are shit and a tourist attraction, I think they are active members of our armed forces performing their duties.

When I visited Tower of London last summer they told you on entry that it is a working fortress. There are also numerous shouts about changing of the guards and Beefeaters (plus guides the day we went as it was quiet) keeping the way clear.While I appreciate those who haven’t been may not know this visitors should be aware.

Let’s face it regardless of your own opinions there are billions of pounds worth of jewels housed there which are being protected and their job is to protect them and the tower area. Of course the Pompous nature of the ceremony still continues. It is what attracts thousands of visitors each year to pay towards its upkeep, (don’t want to debate the rights and wrongs of that but the ticket sales help with costs).
It is also probably one of the most secure areas in central London as it can be locked from within and easily protected hence why it was originally built. Hypothetically If it was to be invaded it’s a pretty good place to base yourself to overthrow the monarchy.

So while it’s a shame the young boy got knocked over his family should not have been unaware that guards were coming and should have been ensuring all of their family members were not in the way of the guards exit route.

The real issue is that the Tower is always going to be a potential terrorist target. All the soldiers working there (including the Beefeaters) have to keep an eye out for anything suspicious at any time. A child in the way might be a distraction

DD went recently in her tudor school uniform ( as she then gets in for free) and said so many kids came running up to her as if she was part of the show it must be a nightmare being on duty there and constantly on the alert.

@PurpleCarpets

The Queens Guard aren’t a tourist attraction. They’re professional soldiers who are doing their duty.

This is somewhat disingenuous. They absolutely are a tourist attraction. They wear fancy dress, and they perform strange rituals. If they want to be treated as serious soldiers by the public I'd suggest they dress down and cut out the romantic bits.

Fancy dress and perform strange rituals!! Are you bloody serious?

It's called a uniform and they are marching as they are the Queens guardsmen.

You really have no clue about the traditions and practice of the British Army.

They are armed soldiers on duty and will not 'play' or 'mess about'. Marching guards march in tandem in direct, straight lines, not march around people.

How is this marching in straight lines remotely helpful as a means of protecting anyone or anything?

Surely a truly protective role would involve adaptation to circumstances? A bit of looking left and right? Maybe standing still and looking at what's going on around you?

A truly ceremonial role otoh - yes, march in straight lines, and appear not to notice a single thing in your path, so much so that you walk smack into a small child. Keep your eyes fixed firmly on a spot in the mid distance...

@Sn0tnose

completely agree. Culture is dynamic and accommodations should be made if the area is open to tourists. A simple risk assessment would suggest a clearly demarcated route for marching that is inaccessible to members of the public, to avoid this kind of situation.

Have you ever been to the Tower? Guards need to be able to come and go from every direction and unless you stop visitors from accessing the jewel house etc, then you just can’t do that.

What is wrong with expecting adults to take responsibility for themselves and their children? Why are we treating people like they are incapable of opening their eyes and taking notice of what’s going on around them?

Making my point even further, it should not be accessible to tourists then at all. I am conscious of things like this albeit in an engineering sense, this site would not be open to the general public to ensure guards had accessibility in all directions at all times given how many people have pointed out how well trained and necessary they are carrying loaded weapons etc. This would not pass a risk assessment.

And it wouldn't matter one iota that incidents like this are rare, a shout usually clears the way, it has only happened one time in the last blue moon etc., the point is it could happen and therefore not safe. Given their job is so important they should be given the space and tools to do it without causing possible harm to tourists.

@mathanxiety

They are armed soldiers on duty and will not 'play' or 'mess about'. Marching guards march in tandem in direct, straight lines, not march around people.

How is this marching in straight lines remotely helpful as a means of protecting anyone or anything?

Surely a truly protective role would involve adaptation to circumstances? A bit of looking left and right? Maybe standing still and looking at what's going on around you?

A truly ceremonial role otoh - yes, march in straight lines, and appear not to notice a single thing in your path, so much so that you walk smack into a small child. Keep your eyes fixed firmly on a spot in the mid distance...

They do do a lot of standing around observing. But when they are marching directly, what they are doing is marching to their next guard point. They have X amount of time to do this in so they are in time at their next point, whilst a new guard relieves them of theirs. It's all timed, so yeah they have to march straight without interruption. This is why the beefeaters and tour guides inform all the tourists to clear the way as they will be moving soon. Then the guard shouts "clear the way for the Queen's guard"

They don't just go ;

"hey Jim, fancy marching to that corner over there now?"

"Aye Barry why not, tell you what we will hoof a tourist on our way for some drama and action"

@mathanxiety

They are armed soldiers on duty and will not 'play' or 'mess about'. Marching guards march in tandem in direct, straight lines, not march around people.

How is this marching in straight lines remotely helpful as a means of protecting anyone or anything?

Surely a truly protective role would involve adaptation to circumstances? A bit of looking left and right? Maybe standing still and looking at what's going on around you?

A truly ceremonial role otoh - yes, march in straight lines, and appear not to notice a single thing in your path, so much so that you walk smack into a small child. Keep your eyes fixed firmly on a spot in the mid distance...

They are not marching around for a bit of exercise. They are marching from one point to the next - usually as a duty protection route or to the next guard post. These are timed and the most direct route and often in tandem with other guards changing posts. It's not a tourist attraction. People need to look after their children and keep them out of the guards way.

It's a military base! All military bases across the UK have armed guards, I live near 3, try walking past their gates at changeover and get under their feet and see what happens! OP the angel emoji, really, ok ... you should write clickbait titles for the Daily Mail.

The Queens guards hae to put up with gormless tourists as well as do their job. I have great admiration for them, there's no way in hell I could do it...... Never mind pushing kids out the way id be booting them to Mars 😳

@mathanxiety

I haven’t been conditioned or treated like dirt at all.

If you honestly believe that soldiers have any business marching around in public streets where they could knock over small children who get in their way, then yes, you have been conditioned.

And soldiers marching around in streets where there are members of the public, trained to keep going regardless of human obstacles in their path are trained to treat civilians like mere objects.

Where’s a deep sigh emoji when you need one?

The kid didn’t get knocked over on a public street. None of the You Tube videos filming stupid tourists getting pushed out of the way by soldiers have been filmed on public streets. The tourists pay to come into the soldier’s place of work and there are bloody big gates keeping them out at other times.

If you’re talking about parades in military towns, then the road will be closed. And yes, if you see a road closure and think it’s a good idea to stand in the middle of it while 200 soldiers come marching towards you, then I do think you deserve to be stepped on. Same goes for carnival floats, marching bands and general roadworks. If you’re a parent and you let your child stand in their way, then you are an incompetent parent.

@PurpleCarpets

They are tasked with guarding "the royal residence" not "where the royal is currently resident" hence why they are at Buckingham palace, the tower of London and Windsor. These can all be used as a residence,

The video was taken at the Tower of London. It was last used as a royal residence 500 years ago.

Are you being deliberately obtuse?

Children are often used as decoys in terrorist attacks. Sadly.
Rules of the guard are what they are.
And the guard stepped over the child safely.
I hope the parents are ashamed of themselves for their lack of respect. 😠