One of King Charles III’s guard horses bit a tourist posing for a photo in London.
Footage taken outside of the Household Cavalry Museum on Monday, July 22, showed a large crowd of tourists surrounding a soldier and his horse, who appeared unsettled as several people approached to try and pet the large animal.
Despite a large warning sign on the wall just behind the King’s Guard that reads, “Beware: Horses might kick or bite. Don’t touch the reigns. Thank you,” several tourists attempted to touch the horse and pose for a photo with the horse nipping at each of them in warning not to come too close.
At one point in the clip, a woman dressed in a black baseball cap and a Pink Floyd shirt ran up to stand right next to the horse, who immediately chomped down on her arm. The woman cried out in pain before returning to her companions and collapsing on the ground with a visible injury.
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This is not the first time tourists have disregarded a royal horse’s warning. Last year, a tourist posing for a photo with a King’s Guard horse was shocked when it bit her ponytail and dragged her off balance. In a separate incident in April 2023, another tourist attempting to take a photo with the King’s Guard was headbutted in the arm by the soldier’s horse.
“We want to ensure all those who visit the Horse Guards have an enjoyable time,” the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence said in a statement to The New York Post in 2023. “This area is particularly busy with tourists. Signs clearly display warnings that animals may bite and for tourists to keep their distance. This is for the safety of those on duty and the public.”
The statement continued: “If this is the case, they are actually allowed to shout warnings at you to make you go away. If people start acting aggressively, the soldiers can even present their bayonets to them.”
Per the official website, the Household Cavalry is considered to be the public face of the British Army, both at home and abroad, and is divided into the army’s two most senior regiments: The King’s Life Guards and The Blues & Royals. They carry out mounted ceremonial duties on both State and Royal occasions.
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Last month, a tourist outside of Buckingham Palace fell to the ground after a King’s Guard horse seemingly head-butted her in the arm as she was trying to snap a photo, per the Daily Mail.
Tourists aren’t the only ones who have had trouble with royal horses. In June, Princess Anne was airlifted to Southmead Hospital in Bristol for injuries to her head sustained during an undisclosed incident with a horse at Gatacomb Park.
Her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, confirmed she was “recovering well” after the incident.
