Beefeaters, bobbies, bearskin hatWhat do these words sound like to you? Surely everything except law enforcement. Come on, nobody would think of calling the watchmen of a tower meat eaters, Beto the policemen, or bear skin head the royal guard. Nobody except Londoners themselves, who have a habit of nicknamed everything.
And not only that, but they also make them a sensational tourist attraction.
The beefeaters are those elderly gentlemen that we see walking in red uniforms through the Tower of London. Although we think they are simply tour guides (In fact this is what they mostly do), they turn out to be true guards, and that to have that position they have had to be in the British armed forces for at least 22 years and hang two specific decorations on their chests; Until recently, there were only men. The Yeomen, who are called (well, actually the official name is much longer, so much so that we are not going to repeat it here), are guardians of the Tower of London since 1485. Its common name (beefeaters) does not have a clear origin, as some say that it comes from the fact that part of the salary was paid with beef, others that it comes from the old French buffetier -the guard who guarded the royal food. In any case, these 36 guards are a tradition Londoner.
So are the royal guards, dressed in that uniform where the particular hat stands out (which was actually very common in the grenadiers of all the European armies of the XNUMXth century and part of the XNUMXth century, a bit uncomfortable to fight, right?). The change of guard diary in the Buckingham Palace constitutes a tourist event that no Away en London stop witnessing. Although the most fun is to see the sentries with their rigid bodies, which look like statues.
Finally, there are the bobbies, that is, the local policemen (it seems that the name comes, as a diminutive of Robert, by Robert Peele, who was minister of the interior when the body was created), so courteous and chivalrous. So much so that they usually don't even carry firearms (although with the increase in crime that has been changing).
Si you travel a London And do not take a photo next to one of those three types of law enforcement officers, because they will have wasted their time.