12 hours ago, dmwalker said:

No, it isn't:

"The King's Guard are the contingents of infantry and cavalry soldiers charged with guarding the official royal residences in the United Kingdom."

So, they are not there for the entertainment of the tourists. They are soldiers on duty.

 

The above is exactly what I meant when I titled this topic "tourists haven't a clue". Tourists have no idea that they are soldiers on duty.

Maybe they should put up big sign or something to warn tourists that its the case.

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 20233 yr by martin-w

14 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

No, I understand exactly what they are and what they are for and it’s still a ridiculous waste of very scant resources.

Having what amounts to a garrison in the Tower of London and effectively a riding school in - of all places - Knightsbridge is ludicrous in this day and age when we have a regular army smaller than at any time since Charles I.

You’ll note Downing St., parliament, Buckingham Palace, Whitehall, etc. are guarded by armed police.

These guys are there to play toy soldiers for tourism, pointless ceremony and along the way they’ll have a good time living in central London for six months.  

Of course they are real troops and they all have an important part to play in our modern, mechanised army but after six months of guarding nothing much really important, marching up and down and partying, it’ll take around another five to six months of training to get them back into an effective, active unit.

It makes no sense whatsoever.

Noel; I suspect most of my fellow Brits don’t give two hoots about pomp and circumstance these days, just as most of those kids on horses carrying a sword would much rather be learning to drive tanks…

 

 

Are you sure you are British? 

What were the two policemen in the video supposed to be doing? I thought they would be there to prevent these occurrences.

Rather than single out tourists I think it is more accurate to say people in general. We see the same thing in the U.S. There seems to be a common attitude that rules and manners are for others and excludes them, A general lack of decorum.

 

Bill W

19 minutes ago, dmwalker said:

What were the two policemen in the video supposed to be doing? I thought they would be there to prevent these occurrences.

Probably on standby in case someone was addressed by the wrong pronoun, at which point they’d spring into action, until then nothing.

45 minutes ago, IanHarrison said:

just as most of those kids on horses carrying a sword would much rather be learning to drive tanks…

But, do they not volunteer to become King's Guards?

24 minutes ago, jon b said:

Probably on standby in case someone was addressed by the wrong pronoun, at which point they’d spring into action, until then nothing.

Maybe they just hang around there hoping someone will eventually want to take a selfy with them.

54 minutes ago, IanHarrison said:

Are you sure you are British? 

I think the British have strong views for and against the monarchy and DD_Arthur's comments are typical of the British who are against. While those who are for the monarchy are still in the majority, they will eventually be in the minority.

On 1/17/2023 at 5:12 AM, martin-w said:

Maybe they should put up big sign or something to warn tourists that its the case.

While not "big" per se, I did manage to read the sign posted next to the portcullis warning folks to not touch the horse as they might bite or kick the transgressor...

Clearly, those folks don't read or understand King's English! 😏

23 minutes ago, dmwalker said:

I think the British have strong views for and against the monarchy and DD_Arthur's comments are typical of the British who are against.

Wha?

Where on earth do I say I’m against the monarchy?  
For your information I’m not. Constitutional monarchy works very well for us.
Do you people think “the King’s Guards” actually guard the Royal family?  Big lol.

These guys are on what the army calls ‘ceremonial duties’ which actually involves taking a highly trained mechanised battalion out of active duty for a year so they can partake in a piece of theatre.  You know; all that pomp and ceremony beloved by tourists and gullible foreign dignitaries.

The guys on the horses are from cavalry regiments.The majority of the them don’t actually want anything to do with horses, they are tank crew. That’s what they joined up to do.

The King and his family are guarded by a specialist protection group of armed policemen. Not soldiers.

The police you see in these videos are to guard the guards.

The whole thing is a ludicrous anachronism.

 

36 minutes ago, DD_Arthur said:

These guys are on what the army calls ‘ceremonial duties’ which actually involves taking a highly trained mechanised battalion out of active duty for a year so they can partake in a piece of theatre.

So they don't volunteer?

1 hour ago, DD_Arthur said:

Where on earth do I say I’m against the monarchy?

Strictly speaking, I didn't say you were against the monarchy, although I had assumed it. I said those who are against the monarchy would share your views about the ceremonial aspects. However, I shall try to be more careful with my wording in the future.

36 minutes ago, dmwalker said:

So they don't volunteer?

To take part in this stuff? No.

It’s part of regimental duty for certain units but if you want to drive tanks there’s a big chance that you’ll also be put on a horse before they let you near an AFV.

Don’t worry, no one is sorry to be posted to central London for six months. There are plenty of ‘diversions’ for young soldiers to enjoy!!

However, when it comes to what an army is supposed to be doing in the twenty-first century, this sort of stuff is an incredibly expensive, wasteful diversion.

1 hour ago, DD_Arthur said:

However, when it comes to what an army is supposed to be doing in the twenty-first century, this sort of stuff is an incredibly expensive, wasteful diversion.

When you say it's not voluntary are you speaking from experience DD?  Have you served in such units?

Maybe it's different here in the United States.  People volunteer for ceremonial and other non-combat training duties in our military.  The Marine Band plays for visitors in Washington among it's ceremonial duties.  Ditto the Marine Precision Drill Squad.  And the ceremonial guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier.  It's a matter of pride and I suspect those who are performing ceremonial duties in the British army exhibit the same sort of pride.

I volunteered to be on the competitive rifle teams in both the Marine Corps and the Air Force.  And when I was first in the Air Force I volunteered to participate on the firing squad for military funerals conducted in the area.  It wasn't a duty.  I was proud to volunteer to do it.

I wrote here before that I attended the annual highland games at Estes Park Colorado.  One year the Queen's Scott Guards were present and they were magnificent.  Playing Scotland the Brave on their bagpipes and toe dancing between the crossed swords.  I wrote a letter to the queen thanking her for allowing to come and perform.  I never expected an answer but I got a reply from a brigadier on Buckingham Palace Stationary.

If I was a Brit I'd be proud of your ceremonial troops just as I am proud of our own serving in the Marine Barracks and the Old Guard in Washington.  It's considered an honor to serve in those units and there is a waiting list of soldiers and Marines for those duty assignments.

Our Old Guard Fife and Drum Band

And the Marine Barracks Silent Drill Team

Noel

 

Edited January 17, 20233 yr by birdguy

This sort of stuff is NOT incredibly expensive. It has to be less than one thousandth of the defense budget. It can't cost more than a million pounds per annum. A billion is a thousand times that. And the defense budget is way over a billion pounds. The cost is not worth mentioning.