Caught On Video: A Member Of The Queen’s Guard Pulls Out A Bayonet On A Tourist

There are things you just don’t do, and aggravating a member of the Queen’s Guard — particularly one armed with a gun and bayonet — is one of them, a tourist found out the hard way.

In a video posted June 22, which has since gone viral, a tourist at Windsor Castle, outside of London, can be seen walking alongside a member of the Queen’s guard, apparently mocking him, which the soldier steadfastly ignores. That is, until the tourist puts his hand on him — then it gets real. The soldier points his gun and bayonet at the man, who promptly beats a retreat.

“Get back from the Queen’s Guard!”

In fact, mocking, posing with, walking alongside, trying to get a chuckle out of, or otherwise being a nuisance to the famously stoic members of the Queen’s Guard is something of a sport among some tourists to royal residences, according to the Guardian. There are less dramatic ways of dealing with such annoyances — stomping feet, shouting commands — but these highly-trained, armed soldiers draw the line at being touched.

A spokesperson for the British Army, who was not identified, told the Evening Standard that the soldier’s actions were not out of line.

“It is disappointing that a member of the public has shown such disrespect to a member of the Queen’s Guard. The Queen’s Guard is under orders to protect Her Majesty, The Palace and his post. The soldier is well within his rights to ask a member of the public to move away. Due to the current heightened security threat and increased incidents of members of the public trying to intervene with the guard we have put barriers between the guard and the public so no such incidents could take place now.”

The spokesperson added that he believes this footage was shot in January, although the video is not dated.

This is not the first time a disrespectful tourist has found himself on the business end of a Queen’s Guard’s ire — if not his weapon. In fact, YouTube is filled with videos of tourists who have pushed their luck too far with the otherwise patient soldiers.

As for the tourist who found himself with a Queen’s Guard bayonet pointed at him in this most recent video, he’s finding little sympathy in the YouTube comments.

“That tourist is lucky the soldier only gave him a warning. The Queen’s Guards have the right to detain individuals if they overstep their welcome.”

“These guys are not toy soldiers – they’re serving members of the Armed Forces who are ordered with protecting Royal residences at all costs. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill you if they had to – future tourists pay attention: do not [mess] with the Queen’s Guard.”

Do you think this Queen’s Guard solider was right to pull his bayonet on a tourist? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.