A controversial video of the late Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Guard has continued making the rounds online. The clip, which an account by the name of user7312510220627 uploaded to TikTok on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, showed two members of the Royal Guard knocking over a boy while marching at the Tower of London.
One of the guards shouted, “Make way!” before charging into the child, who fell onto his back. Nevertheless, they continued to march.
The Queen’s Guard is a collection of infantry and cavalry soldiers who are stationed in front of royal residences in the U.K. Their main priority is to protect the reigning monarch and the sovereign’s residences.
Since the video was uploaded to TikTok, it has accumulated hundreds of thousands of likes and thousands of comments. Major news outlets like The Sun and People have also picked up the story.
At the time, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence even spoke about the incident in an interview with the Daily Mail.
“The Guardsmen on duty warned members of the public that a patrol was approaching but the child unfortunately ran out in front of the soldier unexpectedly. The soldier tried to step over the child and continued on his duty,” the spokesperson said.
“Following the incident, the soldier checked on the child and was reassured that all was well.”
Viewers have had mixed responses to the video. Although some TikTok users noted that the Royal Guard isn’t a tourist attraction, others criticized the soldiers’ seemingly callous behavior toward the young boy. The video has also gone viral on other social media platforms, including YouTube and Twitter.
Be sure to reach the end of this article to see the full video
“Why is this shocking? The headline should be ‘stupid parents let stupid child jump in the way of professional soldiers’,” a YouTuber commented in response to the video.
According to News.com.au, another person said, “Watch all these ppl get pressed about the royal guards doing their job. You don’t move? You get trampled. Easy.” Another said, “I blame the parents, absolutely no awareness of their surroundings.”
Many people also left comments under the TikTok video, although it has since been removed from the platform. And some viewers were much more critical of the guards. News.com.au reported that one user commented, “That child isn’t dangerous I get it’s their job but it’s a child there was no reason to do that.”
Another said, “To all the people saying they’re just doing their job. If your job involves trampling children therein lies the problem.” Another user added, “It wouldn’t kill the guard to walk around the child, if it’s adults in the way I understand but if it’s a child you can make an exception.”
This isn’t the first controversial incident that has involved a member of the Queen’s Guard.
In 2018, a tourist stepped over a rope barrier at Windsor Castle, standing directly in front of a soldier’s path. The member of the guard — tasked with walking in a straight line — pushed the woman out of the way and continued to march.
Tourists get in the way of guards enough that multiple videos of these incidents — not to mention compilations — are on YouTube. Many viewers seem to be sympathetic to the guards, with some echoing the sentiment that they are simply doing their jobs. Still, the videos have caused mixed reactions, with people still debating whether the guards
have always been right with their actions.
What do you think? Should the guards have been more gentle with the child, or were their actions justified? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on to get other people’s opinions.
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