Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-20
ROYALTY UNDER GUARD
How the Crowned Heads Are Protected From
Possible Injury.
A Matter OF Considerable Importance
The Gar and the sultan
Are Closely Watched.

rrOD 11t-bitS
Guarding the person of a sovereign is a
matter of some Importance, and nearly
every European ruler has his or her special
body of guards, whose sole duty is to study
the safety of their regal employer. In civil
hzed nations is this especially the case
when anarchists and plotters of various
kinds are the chief enemies to be feared.
Those who rule over nations bound up in
uncivilization scarcely need body guards,
inasmuch as even look may mean death
to subject when life is regarded as such
trifie. In Europe, however, things diff
ferent and every king or queen is protect
ed by certain body of armed men.
The queen is guarded In many ways. To
begin with she is always Swallowed by a
special body of detectives, who follow her
about incognito and set a watch upon every
suspicious person The real body guard of
British sovereign consists of the Beef
eaters. that venerable corps whose quaint
dress attracts the attention of all visitors
to the Tower of London. Henry VIII found
ed them for this purpose, and they have
since existed as the body guard of every
sovereign we have had.
When her majesty is travelling in London
she is generally accompanied by squadron
| of Royal Horse Guards or Life Guards. in
the absence of the Beefeaters, who now full
fill their duties more in name than anything
else, except as keepers of the tower. In the
Is
furnished by both British and colonial
troops.
The car Is perhaps the most difficult per-
son to look after in the whole world, owing
to the deep-rooted plots which are constant
ly being formed against his life by nfhilists.
His chief body guard consists of a number
of Corsican police, veterans who have
grown hoary headed in the detective SER
vice. They are never engaged by the Rus
sian court until they have attained a state
of ability far above that usually reached by
detective, and there is Scotland Yard
official who can claim the success achieved
by one of these men. They are all Corsi-
cans bred and born for the cunning and
craft of the inhabitants of that island are
proverbal, and Furthermore they are said
to be the only people who can strike fear
into the heart of the nihlist. Their work
chiefly lies in the kitchen and household
generally; when he is travelling the ear
seeks protection from special corps fur
nished by the national guard
Another crowned head in constant peril Is
the Sultan Abdul Hamid. He is, however,
somewhat comforted by the thought that he
has a corps of men. known as Janissaries,
always about him. They taste his food, and
guard his going out and his coming in, even
to examining his bed before he gets into 1t.
They are nothing more than fanatics, with
50 great a lust for blood that they will Kill
any one or anything upon the least proVoca-
ton, which Is, perhaps the reason why
their august master employs them. 1t Is a
common saying in Turkey that any one who
shows the slightest sign OF madness can
get into the Janissaries Up to about seven
years ago the sultan always employed AL
banians to guard him, but one day he i'm
agined that he had cause to doubt their
fidelity, he beheaded some imprisoned
others and sent the rest about their BUSH
ness
The Swi-s used to be utilized as guards
by nearly every sovereign in Europe
account of their fidelity, but now the pope
is the only person who seeks their aid.
He has two bodies of Swiss soldiery on
duty at the Vatican, one in the daytime and
the other at night.
For peculiar methods of being looked after
perhaps the Queen of Spain comes first
She has no body guard in the daytime unless
she Is travelling, when she is accompanied
by a body of mounted troops.
At night special corps, known as the
Monteros de Espinosa guard the palace from
midnight till / in the morning. when they
are dismissed till the same hour the follow
ing night. One of these men is always
placed in the corridor outside her bed room
door throughout the silent watches of the
night.
In conclusion the female guardians of the
King of Siam must be mentioned. They
consist of eighty well-trained amazons,
dressed in fantastic garh. some of whom
always follow his majesty even when he
goes in the grounds for a walk Their fidel-
ity is proverbial, and their strength almost
Superhuman-so much so that they can
cieaye man in two with one blow from
the long knife they carry in their grdles.