Tourist shocked after King's guard shouts at her for touching his horse
8 February 2023, 12:07 | Updated: 8 February 2023, 12:32
A TikTok video shows one of the King's Guards shouting at tourist after she touched his horse's reigns.
One tourist got a fright when she decided to touch a horse belonging to one of the King’s guards.
The video was shared on TikTok by user @kingshorseuk and sees an anonymous woman trying to get a picture with the guard while getting close to the horse’s face.
She then attempts to grab hold of its reins, which didn’t go down well with the guard on its back.
"Get off the reins!" he shouts, before she decides to try her luck another time without the guard noticing.
This time shouts "Get off!," with the woman jumping out of her skin.
The video has now been viewed more than nine million times, with people divided over who was in the right.
“Why did you try to touch them again like he said get off the reins,” said one person, while another wrote: "If that happened to me I'd be crying for the rest of my life😭😭😭😂".
Someone else said: "I don’t get why people would do that tho why can’t you just look at him."
After the same thing happened last year, an Army Spokesperson spoke out out, saying they 'want to ensure all those who visit Horse Guards have an enjoyable time.'
The statement adds: "This area is particularly busy with tourists and on occasions the soldiers undertaking Guard duty need to shout loudly to alert members of the public if they get too close to the horses, which happened in this case.
“We have signs placed alongside the horse boxes, stating that the horses bite and would always encourage the public not to get close to horses, as after all, they are animals and can be unpredictable.”
There are usually two sentries who guard the entrance to Horse Guards on a daily basis and they swap every hour between 10am and 4pm.
Most tourists go to watch the Changing of the Guards which happens every weekday at 11am.
This is conducted by soldiers of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment at Horse Guards and named after the troops who have mounted The King’s Life Guard there since the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660.
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