Tales of London

‘The Yeomen Warders of His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary’ might not exactly roll off the tongue. But this is the official name for the UK’s oldest military corps: the Beefeaters. There’s been many a theory speculated as to the origin of their sobriquet, but in all likelihood it simply refers to their historically large rations of meat. Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, frequented the Court of Charles II in 1669, where he observed, “A very large ration of beef is given to them daily at the court, and they might be called Beef-eaters”. Lending weight to this argument is the French insult of calling the English in general ‘les rosbifs’ – which, frankly, is a pathetic riposte to the superior jibe of ‘frogs’.

In 1485, following his victory over Richard III at Bosworth Field, Henry VII founded the Yeomen of the Guard as his personal bodyguard; the Tudor Rose continues to be part of the Beefeaters’ badge to this day. When his son Henry VIII relocated from the Tower of London upon becoming king in 1509 he left a troop of twelve Yeomen behind as a token garrison, and it was these soldiers that would form the distinct Yeomen Warders who remain at the Tower to this day. The number of Warders has fluctuated over the centuries, being as high as two hundred in the mid-1500s, but the current number is thirty-five.

To become a Beefeater today an applicant must have served at least twenty-two years in the British armed forces, hold the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, and have risen to the rank of Warrant Officer (although in exceptional circumstances Staff Sergeants may be considered for the role). Until recently sailors were unable to become Beefeaters, as they swear their allegiance to the Admiralty rather than to the monarch; however, in 2009 the Governor of the Tower petitioned the Queen to change this rule, to which she assented. Two years later Rob Fuller became the first Royal Navy sailor to enter service as a Beefeater. Four years earlier in 2007 another first had taken place, when Moira Cameron became the first ever female Beefeater; as of October 2023, there have been a total of six female Beefeaters appointed.

The Beefeaters are serving soldiers, and have twenty-one official duties at the Tower of London. The most famous and visible duty is as a tour guide, a role they’ve performed since the nineteenth century, and which requires extensive training in the Tower’s history so as not to be caught out by any precocious schoolchildren. Since 1858 their undress uniform has been the hardwearing blue tunic with red trimming, but whenever the monarch visits the Tower or they are on duty at state occasions the familiar red and gold uniforms – known informally as Tudor State Dress – will make an appearance. Another duty of the Beefeaters is the Ceremony of the Keys, when the gates to the Tower are locked at night. The ceremony has existed in one form or another for nearly seven hundred years, and is possibly the oldest extant military ceremony in the world; it’s never been cancelled, and was delayed only once, due to enemy action during the Second World War. The Ceremony is open to the public, and limited numbers of tickets are available to book through Historic Royal Palaces.

One of the Beefeaters has the honour of being the Ravenmaster, responsible for the welfare of the ravens at the Tower: a position dating back centuries, but a title that has officially been in use only since the 1960s. It’s unknown exactly how long ravens have nested at the Tower, but legend has it that if they all depart then the White Tower will collapse and disaster will befall the kingdom. In the late seventeenth century Charles II is said to have decreed that at least six ravens must be kept within the Tower at all times to prevent this from happening. The Ravenmaster feeds them a diet mainly of raw meat from Smithfield Market and blood-soaked biscuits; the flight feathers of the captive ravens are also trimmed to ensure they cannot fly long distances, but they’re free to roam the grounds of the Tower and can often be found sat on a bench next to weary tourists. Despite having a cushy living, some have been dismissed for bad behaviour: in 1986 Raven George was sent to Welsh Mountain Zoo for “conduct unsatisfactory” after he started eating television aerials.

Being ceremonial guards of the Tower, the Beefeaters have tied accommodation within the grounds, with some of the apartments dating back to the thirteenth century – although they do have to pay council tax and a reasonable level of rent to live here. As recently as the nineteenth century there were dozens of pubs within the Tower, but today there exists only one: the Yeoman Warders Club, which is open only to Beefeaters and their invited guests. New recruits are presented with a silver tankard in this pub, where they are sworn in around a large bowl of port to the toast “May you never die a Yeoman Warder”. Supposedly this tribute dates back centuries: at one time Yeoman Warders were able to buy their position for 250 guineas, with the money held by the Constable of the Tower. When the Beefeater retired, the sum was returned to him; if he died whilst still a Yeoman Warder, the Constable could pocket the lot. That system came to an end in 1826 when the Duke of Wellington was made the Constable of the Tower, and the position of Yeoman Warder became by appointment rather than by purchase.

Aside from having their own private pub within a setting as palatial as the Tower of London, there are a couple of other boozy perks to working at the Tower. Due to a long-standing licencing agreement, a bottle of Beefeater Gin is sent to each Yeoman Warder on their birthday. To this day, whenever a Royal Navy vessel moors at Tower Wharf they must present a barrel of wine, rum or brandy to the Constable of the Tower, known as the 'Dues': this barrel is ceremoniously escorted to Tower Green by the Beefeaters, where it is presented to the Constable. Cheers.

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