One of the guards shouts, “Make way!” before charging into the child, who falls onto his back. Nevertheless, they continue to march.
The video’s caption reads, “Nobody is safe 😢.”
The Queen’s Guard is a collection of infantry and cavalry soldiers who are stationed in front of royal residences in the U.K.
Since the video was uploaded to TikTok, it has accumulated hundreds of thousands of likes and thousands of comments. Major news outlets like The Sun and People have also picked up the story.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence spoke to the incident in an interview with the Daily Mail.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
“Following the incident, the soldier checked on the child and was reassured that all was well.”
Viewers have had mixed responses to the video. Although some TikTok users noted that the Royal Guard isn’t a tourist attraction, others criticized the soldiers’ seemingly callous behavior toward the young boy. The video has also gone viral on other social media platforms, including YouTube and Twitter.
Be sure to reach the end of this article to see the full video
“People think these guys are just decorative. They're real troops with real orders,” a TikTok viewer wrote.
However, some viewers were much more critical of the guards.
"To all the people saying they're just doing their job. If your job involves trampling children therein lies the problem," another TikTok user wrote.
"It wouldn't kill the guard to walk around the child, if it's adults in the way I understand but if it's a child you can make an exception,” someone else added.
This isn’t the first controversial incident that has involved a member of the Queen’s Guard.
In 2018, a tourist stepped over a rope barrier at Windsor Castle, standing directly in front of a soldier’s path. The member of the guard — tasked with walking in a straight line — pushed the woman out of the way and continued to march.
Tourists get in the way of guards enough that multiple videos of these incidents — not to mention compilations — can be found on YouTube. Many viewers seem to be sympathetic to the guards, with some echoing the sentiment that they are simply doing their jobs.
“The Queen’s Guard is doing the right thing. They are protecting their queen and the palace. This is their duty and anyone who does anything stupid over and over again should be punished,” one YouTuber commented in response to “5 Reasons why you NEVER annoy a Queens Guards.”
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