Of all the people out there who might get away with carrying a gun disguised as an umbrella, it's King Charles' bodyguard.
If Kingsman has taught us anything, it's that there are some pretty cool inventions out there capable of taking on a threat, and the security team responsible for looking after the royals are surely top of the list to get their hands on them.
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Many people became convinced that Charles' bodyguard is equipped with a gun in disguise after a video went viral last week suggesting he might be able to start firing bullets from his umbrella.
Security expert Will Geddes, Managing Director of International Corporate Protection Group, told LADbible such weapons do exist – in fact there are all sorts of objects weapons could be disguised as, from mobile phones and cigarette packets to big clocks hiding parts of Glock pistols.
He explained: "One of the things that we, in our world, have to be pretty switched on about is the fact that there are so many different types of improvised weapons out there. So you could fit a smaller Parabellum into something which looks like a cigarette packet, you could put it into a belt, into a belt buckle, you could put it into an umbrella, you could fabricate a weapon into all sorts of things."
Throughout his 30 years on the job, Geddes has worked as security for numerous Hollywood stars, former heads of states and a number of foreign royal families. His experience has taught him that disguised weapons are less accessible in the UK than they are in countries like Russia, the US and China, but they're not unheard of.
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That being said, unfortunately the royal family's security team, which is known as the Royalty and Specialist Protection Group (RASP), don't carry them. At least, not as far as we're allowed to know.
After studying the video of Charles' bodyguard, Geddes expressed belief he was carrying a taser, a gun and an umbrella – but not an umbrella disguised as a gun.
"The Royal and Specialist Protection guys don't use firearm umbrellas. They don't need to," Geddes said. The security guard explained that a lot of the team are 'ex-military' who have generally joined the Met Police before moving to RASP.
Though they are equipped with firearms, Geddes said the 'only times' security would actually fire weapons would be if the person they're protecting is 'at deadly threat'.
"The only times they produce that weapon is really a last resort. But they're incredibly capable. They, you know, these guys are on the range, very regularly keeping their drills and skills up," he explained.
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Just because the bodyguard's umbrella isn't a gun doesn't necessarily mean it couldn't be used as a weapon, though. Geddes suggested the umbrella in question could have a steel frame to it to make it more robust than the average, turns-inside-out-in-a-gust-of-wind creation.
The point of the umbrella could be used to 'jab' a threat, and the material could even be fabricated with Kevlar to help protect it against, for example, a knife attack.
All in all, though, Geddes mostly dispelled the rumours of the 'gunbrella', saying: "As disappointing as this may sound, Royalty and Specialist Protection don't really go for the James Bond gadgets.
"Or maybe they do," he added, "But I can't tell you..."
Featured Image Credit: @kyletillerr/TikTok Instagram/@willgeddesTopics: King Charles III, Royal Family, UK News, Viral