A video of a member of the Queen‘s Guard knocking over a boy who walked in his way is going viral.
On Tuesday, a TikTok user shared a clip of two armed guardsmen dressed in gray tunics and bearskin caps marching in unison while on patrol outside the Tower of London.
Adults and children were seen watching them nearby, including one boy who had stepped into their path.
One of the guards brusquely shouted “Make way!” as he was inches away from the boy, then kept walking, knocking into him.
The child fell to the ground as the man mowed over him, stepping over the boy’s head and continuing on his way.
“Nobody is safe,” the TikTok user captioned the video.
@user7312510220627 Nobody is safe 😢 #england #royalguards #foryou #foryoupage #london
A UK Ministry of Defense spokesperson told The Daily Mail of the incident, “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. Following the incident, the soldier checked on the child and was reassured that all was well.’
In the TikTok video’s comments, viewers were split over whether the fault lied in the hands of the guard or the child.
Those who defended the guard argued that members of the Queen’s Guard, who are responsible for protecting the monarch’s royal residences, are required to not break formation.
“People are warned ahead of time where you can and can’t stand. They didn’t just kick a child unprovoked. The parents clearly didn’t listen,” one wrote.
“People don’t understand that those guards aren’t there for tourist attraction and are highly trained SOLDIERS there to protect the QUEEN,” another argued.
Others, meanwhile, argued that the safety of the boy should have been prioritized.
“‘It’s their job’ doesn’t mean they can just trample a child, the queens not gonna die if he stepped around the kid or warned him like a metre earlier,” one commented.
“There isn’t a job in this world that would make me as a human being trample a child then walk away. Guards marching for show so it’s ok to hurt a kid?” another user added.