A bystander who filmed tourists ‘ridiculing’ a King’s Guard before a police officer intervened has condemned the group for being ‘disrespectful’ to the British military.
Kallum, 24, posted footage on TikTok showing the tourists, believed to be American, shouting and laughing at the security guard in central London as they tried to contact him.
The tourists take out their phones to film the uniformed guard, capturing each other laughing before shouting when they think they have guessed his name.
An officer then swoops in to discuss the matter with the guard before warning the group to stop.
Speaking about the awkward ordeal, Kallum told Forces News: ‘I think it’s very disrespectful to come here from abroad and do things like this to people serving in the British Army.
Do you know the tourists or police officers involved? Email katherine.lawton@mailonline.co.uk
An officer enters to discuss the matter with the guard before warning the group to stop
Footage posted to TikTok shows the tourists, believed to be American, shouting and laughing at the security guard in central London as they appear to try to contact him
“I don’t think they understand that these are fully trained soldiers who have a job to do.”
Kallum, from Hull, was visiting London when he witnessed the incident, and said the police officer was ‘very responsive, very direct about what he thought of them and asked them to leave immediately’.
The police officer told the tourists: “These soldiers serve their country, they take their work seriously, they are responsible for protecting this facility, they are not objects of ridicule,” he told the tourists.
“I appreciate you having fun, he’s not having fun, he’s having a long day, he’s got a lot of hours to work. It’s exhausting, exhausting, and it’s taking the hell out of him.
‘We don’t appreciate that. I will ask you to leave the facility.’
Viewers of the video were quick to praise the police officer, with one writing: ‘Officer handled this like a champ.’
Another added: “Well done to that police officer.”
It comes after a tourist was attacked by a royal guard after venturing too close to his horse last year.
In the video, people can be seen shouting for a mounted guard during the Horse Guard parade.
Several nervous tourists are seen approaching the mounted pair, respecting their distance and posing for smiling photos.
Some are seen placing their hands on the flanks of the huge horse, which the mounted guard gracefully allows.
However, one tourist exceeded the limit and while trying to touch the horse, he tampered with the reins, causing the Kingsguard to shout, “Don’t touch the reins!”
One tourist exceeded the limit and while trying to touch the horse, he tampered with the reins
This caused the Royal Guard to shout, “Don’t touch the reins!”
The tourist is clearly shaken and backs away from the horse, raising his hand apologetically, as the crowd chatters nervously.
And just a few months earlier, a video was shared online of a blonde woman standing in the way of the security guard at the Horse Guards Parade before he ‘pushed’ her out of the way.
The woman, who was holding a blue can of Pringles, was seen standing very close to one of the mounted guards, while other bystanders gave the guards more space by standing further away.
Although the king’s guard on foot asked the woman to step back when he first passed her to greet his fellow guards, she stepped even closer to the excited horse of the mounted guard.
And when the same guard later walked back to the gate, the woman came straight into his path. He shouted “make way” and used his arm to move the woman out of his path, enraging her.
But while videos often show the Kingsguard fulfilling their duties, there have been times when they break protocol to make someone’s day.
An elderly military veteran was treated to the friendlier side of a member of the King’s Life Guard last July when the soldier moved closer to her as she posed for a photo with her husband.
A video on social media showed the couple – who both proudly displayed their medals – getting as close as possible to the mounted soldier.
But after apparently realizing that they have both served their country, the soldier, wearing his usual plumed helmet and armor, quickly urges his horse closer to them before allowing the woman to stroke his horse’s nose.
In a separate incident, a blonde woman was seen getting in the way of a security guard during the Horse Guards Parade
He shouted “make way” and used his arm to move the woman out of his path, enraging her
An elderly military veteran was treated to the friendlier side of a member of the King’s Life Guard when the soldier came closer to her and allowed the woman to stroke his horse’s nose
The couple leaves beaming and the soldier sends his horse back into position.
In another show of kindness the same month, a member of the Kingsguard was praised after going out of his way to put a young man with Down syndrome at ease.
A video of Mike van Erp, 50, better known by his YouTube name CyclingMikey, and the youngster posing for a photo at Buckingham Palace has caused a stir after it was shared on YouTube.
Footage shows a kind-hearted member of the Guard getting closer to Mike and the boy, who tried to take a photo to commemorate their trip to the Horse Guards Parade.
On Twitter, Mike, a professional carer, posted about their day out: ‘I’ve been working for his family and for him for ten years now.
‘We were cycling on my tandem and passed by the Horse Guards Parade.’
He admitted that “both me and the young lad” got a little scared “when he got closer to us” because it was so unexpected, adding: “It brought tears to my eyes for a few nights.”
A member of the Kingsguard was praised after going out of his way to make a young man with Down syndrome feel comfortable after getting closer to him as he posed for a photo
After Twitter users initially thought Mike was the boy’s father, he clarified, “I’m not his father either, although I would be proud to be one.”
“I am very grateful to the soldier,” he continued. “I’m lucky that I had good parents and went to a Jesuit school that cared about me and taught me well, the same goes for the young boy I’m with. Tears in my eyes.’
The King’s Guards are posted on public duties outside Buckingham and St James’s Palaces, and at Horse Guards on Whitehall.
Although their role is mainly ceremonial, they are part of the Household Division of the British Army and patrol the palaces and guard the sovereign at night.
A sign next to the guard warns spectators that horses may kick or bite and tells them not to touch the reins.
If these rules are not followed, they are known to react aggressively. They take their duties so seriously, but there are times when the human side of the guards comes out.
Do you know the tourists or police officers involved? Email katherine.lawton@mailonline.co.uk