My question: is there any purpose to this feat? Why do they keep extremely still, and not respond to people trying to get them to move, blink, etc? Does this accomplish something in terms of guarding the palace, or is it just some silly military leftover? (Or is the main function "attract tourists & bring in cash to the economy?)
I have seen the American Secret Service in action guarding the President, and they seem to be quite the opposite of “still” – they are constantly moving, looking around, placing themselves in ‘strategic’ positions, etc. I can’t see how 'standing extremely still" would help them guard someone – quite the opposite.
from information from friends who stood guard outside the Palace:-
sentries are supposed to remain at their post ignoring all distractions. Once in a while you march around your beat in conjunction with your partner; covert signals are given to coordinate this.
rifles are not loaded, but ammmunition is kept in the guardroom nearby (this may have changed by now).
small children and photographers are faily easy to ignore; much more difficult to deal with the guy who looks you straight in the eye and says, deadpan, something like “sink plunger” hoping you’ll corpse there and then.
You look ahead but your eyes are constantly moving. Watch for the guy who is standing there for hours when nothing is going on and nothing is obviously likely to happen. Why is he there? Guys who are dressed in unsuitable for the time of year clothing. Recognisable individuals who reappear again and again, day after day. ‘Lone Madman’ rather than ‘international terrorist’ is the sort you are most likely to spot this way -the sort who has some grievance, real or imagined, and thinks if he can only get to the Queen to argue his case… You also watch for senior officers or Royals coming in or out and prepare to pay appropriate compliments
From personal experience fainting is a very real danger while standing motionless for long periods like this. Wiggle the toes, flex the muscles slightly, walk your beat occasionally if you can.
From personal experience
Soldiers fainting while standing in formation is not an unknown phenomenon in any military service, whether standing in a ceremonial guard position or any formation that lasts some time. I understand soldiers in the US Army’s 3rd Infantry, the ceremonial unit based in Washington, DC, have a problem in the summer when wearing the heavy revolution era uniforms.
I happened to pass out while in a battalion formation when I was in Germany with 3AD. We had gone on a battalion run that morning and I didn’t rehydrate myself at breakfast. The battalion commander was a long winded bastard and I did a face dive after about 30 minutes. The funny thing was that I was in the front rank and the the BN commander didn’t even pause. I was told later that I stayed in parade rest all the way down and bounced without my hands leaving the small of my back. The next thing I knew I was in the BN Aid station having gravel washed out of my face and an IV being inserted.
If you really want to see something funny, watch someone pass out in a formation that has bayonets fixed. Everyone in the nearby ranks will grab the weapon and just let the soldier fall. Not that I would do anything different…
When she was about 4, my little sister made one of the Windsor Castle sentries crack up. She was running up and down in front of him whooping and hollering, and then she suddenly stopped, turned to him and said “Hello manny!”. The poor guy lost it.
They’re mostly ceremonial, as I said before the Royal Protectin Squad which are a branch of the Metropolitian Police do most of the actual guarding and they wear plain-clothes.
The soldiers at the tomb of the unknown in DC march most of the time. They march back and forth in front of the tomb. They are changed every few hours but they are there 24 hours a day no matter what the weather is.
Not really. The guards at the tomb of the unknown soldiers are strictly ceremonial and carry non-serviceable, non-functioning archaic weaponry for appearances sake. only.
The guards at Buckingham Palace, however, constitute a real security detail armed with fully functioning and fully loaded bayonet-tipped SA-80 machine guns, who are tasked to guard the residences of live people. Big difference.
The Royal Castle in Stockholm and Drottningholm Castle just outside Stockholm where the royal family actually lives are guarded by soldiers.
The duty of standing guard is rotated between all regiments in all the branches of the armed forces.
I’ve stood guard and while we are not supposed to stand absouletely still like the guards at Buckingham Palace you do stand at attention. During the night shifts this is relaxed.
The Swedish guards are all armed with loaded assault rifles with bayonets. In addition to this the royals are protected by the Security police.
The other benefit of course is that whilst everyone is looking at the pretty red-uniformed guards. They aren’t noticing the other, more discreet, security arrangements.
What I’ve always been curious about is where they draw the line. I’m guessing that physical contact (or reasonable expectation of it) goes beyond “distraction”. But is there anything less than that that they’re allowed to react to?
Once, on one of the home video shows, I saw a video that showed a Palace guard leaving attention and brandishing his rifle. I don’t remember the provocation, but I’m fairly certain it was relatively innocent and there was no physical contact.
In the movie Clear and Present Danger (or another of those Jack Ryan movies), a car bomb explodes in London, nearly taking out our hero. In the resulting chaos, two palace guards come charging down the street with their weapons ready to handle whatever mayhem they find. Of course, this is fiction, but I assume the makers of the movie had some reason to think that the guards would react this way.
they actually filmed that at the old Royal Naval College at Greenwich. A friend who guided tourists there turned up one day to find it dressed up as a fake London street with fake traffic lights and street lamps etc.