The first black man to join an elite regiment that guarded the late Queen says writing a book about his experiences was "a coping mechanism" for the racism he faced. Bristolian Richard Stokes joined
There are currently no black members of the Royal Guards, the elite corps of soldiers who guard the British monarch. The Queen's Guard, which is responsible for defending Buckingham Palace, consists of five Foot Guards regiments and includes Foot Guards, Horse Guards, and the Yeoman of the Guard.
Richard G Stokes was the first black man to serve in the Grenadier Guards and the first guardsman in the whole Guards Division.
Mr O'Brien, who served in the Falklands, added: “If you look at any pictorial or documentary evidence of the Queen's Body Guard then you cannot find anyone black or female. "It's all white men, mostly with beards.
They are called the Queen's Guard. They consists of Foot Guards in full-dress uniform of red tunics and bearskins (hats).
So why do these guards wear tall black hats and conspicuous red tunics? As hard as it may be to believe, the uniform was supposed to intimidate opposing armies. "The idea was that you made your foot soldiers look taller and therefore more fearsome," said Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator based in London.
Do royal guards get paid? They can spend a total of 6 hours a day standing. Do the Queens guards use the bathroom? There are no bathroom breaks, ever.
Privates in the Foot Guards are all known as Guardsmen whether they are male or female. Junior guards have called for a change to the rank of Guardsman – which largely predates the lifting of a ban on women in combat roles in 2018 – be replaced simply with the term "Guard".
There are circumstances in which they are allowed to speak…
…but you probably don't want to be on the receiving end. Guards “are allowed to get [people] away by shouting… warnings if they fail to move away or start to act aggressively,” the Reddit guard says.
As of Jul 22, 2023, the average hourly pay for a Royal Guard in the United States is $19.36 an hour.
All privates in the Foot Guards are known as guardsmen, even though it is not an official rank, whether they are men or women. That includes soldiers in the Irish, Welsh, Scots, Grenadier and Coldstream Guards - the elite infantry units of the Household Division who protect the Queen and her family.
The first black man to join an elite regiment that guarded the late Queen says writing a book about his experiences was "a coping mechanism" for the racism he faced. Bristolian Richard Stokes joined the Grenadier Guards in 1986 after encouragement from his adoptive father.
There is also evidence that Black officers served in the British Army in earlier eras, especially before the reign of Queen Victoria, during which negative and discriminatory attitudes towards Blacks became entrenched.
Lieutenant Colonel Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah, MVO (born 1979) is a Ghanaian-born officer in the British Army. Appointed by Queen Elizabeth II as her equerry, he was the first black man to hold this position. Twumasi-Ankrah is an officer of the Household Cavalry and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
(Buffetiers were guards in the palace of French kings. They protected the king's food.) However, the name Beefeater is more likely to have originated from the time when the Yeomen Warders at the Tower were paid part of their salary with chunks of beef. This took place right up until the 1800s.
Why do the King's Guards wear bearskin? Bearskin caps were introduced by the British Army following the Battle of Waterloo (June 1815). The idea was to make the soldiers appear taller and more intimidating when in combat. Today, five of the British Army's foot guard regiments wear bearskin caps.
What happens if a Royal Guard smiles? The Queen's guards are punished with a smile. If they are caught smiling or laughing at their superiors, they will be fined ₤200 (about $260) from their pay.
“One should never touch a member of the Queen's Guard,” according to Londontopia. “If this is the case, they are actually allowed to shout warnings at you to make you go away. If people start acting aggressively, the soldiers can even present their bayonets to them.”
6. No Toilet Break for the Dedicated Soldiers. The Queen's guards are so dedicated to their position that they can't even leave their post for a toilet break during their working shift. They must all have pretty strong bladders!
The Guard's intimidating weapons only have ammo in them when they are aware of a potential serious security threat. The guard on Reddit, who uses the username 'nibs123,' says that he has never carried a loaded gun as a Guardsman. Check out these ways Queen Elizabeth II sends her staff secret messages.
During that time a Guardsman will have 2 hours on sentry duty and then 4 hours off. A sentry will come to attention, every 10 minutes, slope arms and march across their post, normally about 20 paces in total, having repeated this four-five times the guard halts, shoulders arms and returns to standing at ease.
According to a report by DailyMail, the Queen's Guards are given specific orders to deal with obstacles that may come on their marching route. They are allowed to shout 'Make way for the Queen's Guards' and also stomp their feet.
Orders for sentry duty read out before each two-hour 'tour of duty', make it clear that sentries "may not eat, sleep, smoke, stand easy, sit or lie down during [their] tour of duty".
As some of the best soldiers in the British Army guardsmen have fought in virtually every major area of conflict with great distinction since the 17th Century. The guards do not just perform ceremonial duties at Buckingham Palace, they also take an active role in protecting their Sovereign.
You can't. They are professional soldiers on duty, a smile is probably the best you will get. I have smiled for tourists when asked sometimes, not often though. If they do laugh they will face disciplinary action (conduct unbecoming) not be terminated from position as suggested in another answer.