'Valecti Garde (Corporis) Domini Regis'... Quiz

Answer: Award of the Long Service & Good Conduct Medal

As unlikely as it may sound, until 2011, members of the Royal Navy, Britain's 'senior service', were not permitted to join the royal bodyguard as the navy have a tradition of not swearing an allegiance to the monarch! In addition, former members of the Royal Air Force were only admitted as recently as 1955. Retirement from the Queens Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard is compulsory at the age of 70.

In the past, the monarch at the time would have their own selection criteria for appointment to their bodyguard; during the reign of Queen Victoria her bodyguards were expected to be of a minimum height of five feet and ten inches and to wear a beard which was mandatory.

As of 2013, candidates for membership must be no older than 55 years of age on the day that they swear their Loyal Oath.

There is no bar whatsoever to members of the fairer sex being appointed as members of the Queens Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard, or indeed, as Yeomen Warders. Of the incorrect answers, I'm sure many of the Yeomen of the Guard would say that being good-looking is essential!

Answer: Edward I

The Yeomen of the Guard, the bodyguard that we recognise today, were founded in 1485 to provide protection for the monarch at the time, King Henry VII; they were also known as the Yeoman Archers. Prior to this date, King Richard I had raised a bodyguard that were known as 'Sergeants-at-Arms; all of which were the sons of knights.

The earliest written records of a royal bodyguard come from during the reign of Edward I and these soldiers were known as 'Crossbow men of the Household'. As the longbow took over as the weapon of choice, these crossbowmen disappeared and there are no further records of them after the end of Edward I's reign.

Answer: Fifty

Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond was crowned King of England on the field of the Battle of Bosworth on the 22nd of August 1485 after the royal crown had been discovered under a hawthorn by members of his personal guard. At this time, Henry VII's guard, known as the Yeoman Guard or Yeoman Archers stood at just 50 men.

Henry VII conferred the title 'Yeomen of the Guard' in recognition of the fact that it had been the common man that had made England the great power that it was; he commanded that his royal guard would be drawn from his common soldiers and not from the nobility as had been the case until then.

It should be added here that Henry VII's intention was that this guard were not invested purely for his own personal protection, but were to protect the dignity and the institution of the English crown forever.

Answer: False

Although members of the royal bodyguard and the Yeomen Warders at the Tower of London may appear identical at first glance, there are a number of differences between them. The members of the Queens Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard are only called for duty at state ceremonial occasions and are permitted to live anywhere within the British Isles that they wish.

The royal bodyguard have their headquarters at St James's Palace but are permitted, as honorary members, to use the bar facilities at HM Tower of London.

The royal bodyguard however, have no duties to perform at the Tower. Many of the royal bodyguard have full-time careers outside of their royal duties whereas the Yeoman Warders are employed full-time, salaried and must live within the perimeter of HM Tower of London; the bonus being that it gives them, what must be one of the most exclusive addresses in London!

Answer: Tudor

The striking red uniforms are of a Tudor pattern and are virtually the same today as they were around five hundred and twenty years ago. The full state ceremonial uniform consists of a scarlet doublet; a form of medium length coat, scarlet breeches, black hat and black shoes.

The upper part of the doublet is ornately embroidered front and rear with the national symbols of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom; the rose for England, the thistle for Scotland and the shamrock for Ireland along with the royal cipher 'ER' surmounted with the Tudor crown.

The upper part and arms of the doublet are lined with white cotton whilst the lower part of the doublet is separated into four panels or skirts, each embroidered with gold lace and lined with a material known as shalloon, which is deep blue in colour.

The hat and shoes are decorated with red, white and blue rosettes. Around the throat a three inch deep white muslin ruff is worn. In addition, the royal bodyguard also wear a gold embroidered cross strap across the body; this being an important means of identification between members of the royal bodyguard and those men employed as Yeoman Warders at HM Tower of London.

Answer: Rose, Thistle and Shamrock

The embroidery on the doublet gives the viewer a potted history of the United Kingdom and of the monarchy. If you look closely at the embroidery on the front and rear of the tunic, you will see that the embroidered rose of England is most interesting. So as to reconcile the houses of York and Lancaster, the houses that fought each other for the crown during the Wars of the Roses, the first Tudor king decreed that the two symbols of these houses, the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster be superimposed upon each other; thus forming the emblem that is known today as the Tudor Rose, this flower being surmounted by the Tudor Crown.

The initials of the monarch placed at either side of the doublet are changed with each succession. During the reign of King William III and Mary II, toward the end of the seventeenth century, the initials of these two monarchs were embroidered inter-twined on the doublet.

This was the only instance of this happening in the history of the corps.

Answer: Halberd or Partizan

The halberd or partizan is the long spear-like weapon that can be seen being carried by the Yeomen on all state occasions. These pike weapons are now purely ceremonial and are a total of eight feet in length including the wooden shaft to which the actual weapon itself is fixed; the blades being of gilt steel, each carrying the cipher of the reigning monarch. Beneath the blade each of these weapons carries a nine inch long tassel of red and gold. Each member of the Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard carries a Wilkinson sword.

The sword is also purely for ceremonial use and, except when the blade requires cleaning, these weapons are never drawn from their scabbards. The zweihänder and falchion are both styles of European medieval sword and the buckler was a small steel shield mounted on a soldier's wrist and forearm for protection during close combat.

Answer: False

Gertrude Boud was a seamstress. The beautiful and incredibly intricate needlework of Gertrude has been seen at every state occasion in Great Britain since at least 1915 and, since the television broadcasting of state occasions began to take place in the 1950s, it has been seen by billions of people around the world. Gertrude Boud was born in Ilford, Essex in 1882 and as a young woman was employed as a military tailor.

After the death of her husband in WW1, she moved, with her children to London, where she found employment making the uniforms for the members of the corps. To supplement her wages at this time, one of the perks of her position was that any small off cuts of material could be taken home; this proved to be particularly profitable when it is considered the worth of the small lengths of gold bullion thread; this was, of course, all completely legal! She retired at the age of seventy-five and passed away at the age of eighty-two.

The uniforms that we see at state occasions today are those produced by Mrs Boud all those years ago; their longevity due to the fact that they are only issued to members of the corps as and when the need arises.

Interestingly, until the reign of King George IV, each member of the corps was issued a new uniform annually, the old uniform becoming the property of its wearer. The king decreed that each Yeoman would receive an annual payment of nine pounds; this being in lieu of keeping the uniform which prevented it from being sold on and used for nefarious purposes.

Answer: King George II

This battle was fought as an action in the War of Austrian Succession, or King George's War, and took place on the 27th of June 1743; at the time of the fighting Great Britain was still using the Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar not being adopted in Great Britain until 1752 therefore one could say that the battle was fought on the 16th of June 1743! The village of Dettingen, now known as Karlstein-am-Main, lies in south west Germany on the northern bank of the River Main about seventeen miles to the east of Frankfurt.

In this battle an army of some fifty thousand allied troops - British, Hanoverian and Austrians - all under the command of King George II defeated a French army numbering some seventy thousand troops. Not only was the Battle of Dettingen the last time that the royal bodyguard made an appearance on the battlefield but it was also the last occasion that a British monarch personally led his troops into battle.

It was also at the Battle of Dettingen that an agreement on the treatment of prisoners and the wounded was honoured by both sides, this act laying the foundations for what was to become the Geneva Convention.

Answer: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother passed away on the 30th of March 2002 at the age of 101. The Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard provided six, six hour long vigils with each team of four Yeomen standing vigil for twenty minutes at a time; there were twenty Yeomen covering each six hour period. Other groups that provided a vigil were all five regiments of Foot Guards; The Household Cavalry; The Gentlemen at Arms and The Royal Company of Archers, who are the Queen's Body Guard for Scotland.