Emily Puckering
A Queen's Guard at the Tower of London was seen breaking protocol recently after a tourist failed to keep his distance. Have a look below:
The footage, which was uploaded earlier this month by TikToker @mifoodbook, shows the Queen's Guard appearing to give one of the famous Yeoman Warder tours – a popular tourist attraction at the Tower of London.
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However, during the guard's speech, which had attracted a crowd, a tourist is seen approaching the step he is standing on and looks to be trying to grab a photo opportunity.
The Yeoman Warder, also known as a Beefeater, is having none of this, however, and sternly tells the man to keep his distance.
"Excuse me, sir, move away! Move away from me, sir!" he's heard saying as he's pointing at the tourist to step back.
Unfortunately, the unassuming tourist doesn't seem to get the message and stands his ground as he smiles nervously.
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This is when the guard breaks the protocol of his tour by stepping down from his pedestal to come face-to-face with the tourist, saying yet again: "Sir, move away from me."
This seems to finally do the trick as the man steps away, to which the guard politely says: "Thank you very much," accompanied by a thumbs up.
"I'm just busy at the moment, you can probably see," he then adds, with a less polite: "Don't need you disturbing me."
The TikToker added the caption: "The man just wanted a picture," and the viral video has since been viewed more than a million times, attracting a rather mixed opinion from the online community.
Some thought the guard's attitude was unnecessarily rude, with one person saying: "Somebody got out of the wrong side of the bed."
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Another commented: "Great Britain: *keeps the monarch because it attracts tourists from around the world... *gets annoyed when said tourists take photos of the attraction."
However, many rushed to the guard's defence, pointing out how he's simply 'just doing his job'.
"People need to remember that the guards and yeoman are doing active duty and are not just people in costume like at Disney," one pointed out, as another said: "Gotta remember these guys are career soldiers with 22 years service."
Yeoman Warders have been guarding the Tower of London since Tudor times, according to Historic Royal Palaces, and the Yeoman Body of 32 men and women are all drawn from the Armed Forces.
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To be a Yeoman Warder today, a person must carry at least 22 years of military service – meaning they certainly won't be allowing tourists to get up close and personal for a picture opportunity while they're on duty.