The King’s Guard are bound by strict protocol to not talk or interact with the public – and are often not afraid to shout at tourists who get too close and try posing for photographs

Heartwarming footage has captured the moment a King’s Guard breaks royal protocol when a young blind boy salutes him.

The King’s Guard carry out ceremonial sentry postings outside Buckingham Palace and St James’ Palace in London and are controlled by the British Army’s Household Division. Famously astute and unwavering, they are bound by strict protocol to not talk or interact with the public – and are often not afraid to shout at tourists who get too close and try posing for photographs.

But in a rare touching display, a member of the Life Guards makes a young blind boy’s day. In a new video, Amin, 8, walks over to the guard while guided by a voice off-camera, before he stamps his foot to salute the guard. And in response the soldier, who is wearing his customary helmet, salutes the youngster back by stamping his foot.

The caption on the video, posted to Twitter/X reads: “King’s Royal soldiers, usually banned from speaking to visitors in England, bent the rules for a blind child. The guard responds to the boy’s foot salute by stamping his foot hard on the ground.” And in an adorable moment, the happy-go-lucky child then appears to say “have a good day” to the guard before walking off.

The post has been viewed more than 100,000 times and has more than 19,000 likes. One comment read: “What an unbelievably beautiful moment”, while another gushed: “Such a great moment, I’m sure he will remember this for the rest of his life.” Amin has a TikTok page where family members share videos of him out and about in London.

In July 2024, another video showed a King’s Guard horse craning its neck to lurch at a tourist – biting her arm before she falls to the ground after appearing to faint. The footage was captured by one man outside the Household Cavalry Museum in central London on, as one woman attempted to get a picture with a member of the King’s Guard, mounted on his horse

Amin saluted the King’s Guard ( 
Image:
Twitter/@ShamaJunejo)

However, she seemed to get too close for comfort for the horse, standing in front of a sign, clearly warning people not to touch or interact with the animals. In a separate incident, a man tried to grab the reins of a King’s horse, prompting a furious rebuke from the mounted soldier.

Members of the Life Guards and the other regiment that makes up the Household Cavalry, the Blues and Royals, are posted outside at Horse Guards Parade from 10am to 4pm each day. And, on very rare occasions, soldiers have been known to break royal protocol for exceptional cases. In July 2023, a King’s Guard was praised for posing with a man with Down’s syndrome in a rare breach in protocol. Mike van Erp, also known as YouTuber Cycling Mikey, said he had taken the youngster to get a photo at Buckingham Palace and had tried to stand close to the Guard.

In a video clip online, the sweet Guard moved nearer to the pair so they could capture their day at the Horse Guards Parade. “What a nice man. What a cool thing to do,” Mike said to the young man as they walked away.