An ex-bodyguard and security guard has shut down theories that King Charles III's security guards have been using fake hands.
Over the past week, many eagle-eyed viewers have taken to social media to speculate that the security detail of the UK's new monarch has been employing a tricky tactic.
One user shared a video zooming in on one of the King's bodyguard's arms, which appeared to be held stiffly in front of him.
They captioned the clip: "What's going on with the Bodyguard's hands?"
Another video that showed the bodyguards seemingly unmoving arms and hands was captioned: "Do some have fake arms, hand on guns?"
Per The Sun, there have long been rumors that bodyguards use fake arms or hands so they can hold weapons beneath their coats and respond to a potential threat more quickly.
But despite the online speculation, one security expert has claimed that King Charles III's bodyguards would not use decoy hands because in the UK the "risk is too high".
Will Geddes - who has worked as a security expert for nearly 30 years - told Metro: "They definitely aren’t fake hands."
"I can understand why some people might have thought they were because of what looks like an incredibly tight grip but they definitely aren’t," he continued.
Geddes went on to say that fake arms or hands are not generally used in Britain. "It isn’t a tactic that is used at all in the UK, there might be all sorts of other tricks and stunts that security officers use to make sure high-profile individuals are kept safe, but this wouldn’t be one of them," he told the outlet.
"In the 30 odd years of working in the security industry I’ve never used rubber hands," Geddes added.
The security expert explained that holding a loaded weapon gives rise to its own safety risks, and that protection personnel would be too concerned about a potential accidental firing to hold a gun under their coats.
According to him, such a technique may be employed in the US, where security guards are more "trigger happy", but in the UK, it is far less likely.
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