A video has gone viral of a King's Guard yelling at a tourist after she appears to slap his horse three times as she poses for a photo.
Millions of people flock to London every year with Buckingham Palace being high up on the tourist to-do list, as the royal family draws intrigue around the world, as evidenced in the latest Netflix documentary about Prince Harry and Meghan.
The King's Guard consists of highly trained military personnel, and they are stationed around various royal buildings such as Buckingham and Windsor Palace and are famed for remaining straight-faced while carrying out their duties.
As per the Ministry Of Defence, the Number 12 Company Irish Guards formally took over duties from Number 7 Company Coldstream Guards and became King Charles III guard's immediately after Queen Elizabeth II passed away in September.
One tourist has had a run-in with the new guard after getting a bit too close and personal with one of the horses as it stood on duty in London.
The video was posted onto TikTok by Buska In The Park (@busk1976) and it shows the incident taking place.
The tourist stands next to the horse and poses for a photo, and the animal takes a bit of a liking to her and nuzzles at her pockets.
She bats it away a couple of times but the inquisitive horse keeps coming back for more, so the woman attempts to slap it a little harder.
The King's Guard riding the horse notices what is happening, and yells at the woman to get back, causing her to scurry away in a hurry.
Another guard notices the commotion and marches over to assist, with armed police close behind, instructing onlookers to back away.
Viewers of the video seem to be on the side of the guard, with one person saying: "The disrespect for the guards is out of control. The horse is a guard as well. Do not touch the guards!"
A second person added: "When will tourists get it into their heads the kings guards are active military this includes the horses," and a third said: "I think people need to remember these are active soldiers not just people in fancy dress standing around?"
Let's hope others take the warning in the future - don't touch the King's Guard!
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