Among the sites tourists visit when they go to England are Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Tower of London - all places that are protected by the Royal Guard. While the guards are mostly just performing a ceremonial public duty, watching them is a highlight for many visitors to the country, especially when they march. However, one child got a little too close to the action recently and it didn't end up well for her - or for the Royal Guard.
A video on TikTok shows two guards marching outside of the Tower of London. A young girl steps in front of them and one of the guards plows into the child, knocking her to the ground. He then tries to step over the girl but instead steps on her a bit before walking on without stopping as onlookers gasp at what they just witnessed.
The website for Historic Royal Places asks that visitors to the Tower of London "be respectful and stand clear when the guards are marching and performing their official duties," but some commenters feel that shouldn't be a license for guards to behave how they did in the clip. One person wrote, "I know it's their prehistoric job to walk like that, but that doesn't excuse them committing common assault on people in public places." Another said, "People defending two grown men stepping on a kid."
In response to the outrage, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Defense said, "The Guardsmen on duty warned members of the public that a patrol was approaching but the child unfortunately ran out in front of the soldier unexpectedly. The soldier tried to step over the child and continued on his duty."
They did go on to note that, "following the incident, the soldier checked on the child and was reassured that all was well."