Yeomen Warders

The name Beefeater is of uncertain origin, with various proposed derivations. The term was common as early as the 17th century as a slang term for the English in general. The earliest connection to the Royal Household came as a reference to the Yeomen of the Guard by Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who visited the Court in 1669. In referring to the Yeomen of the Guard, he stated, "A very large ration of beef is given to them daily at the court, and they might be called Beef-eaters". The Beefeater name was carried over to the Yeomen Warders, due to the two corps' outward similarities and the Yeoman Warders' more public presence. Beefeaters also commonly produced and consumed broths made of beef, which were described as rich and hearty. These broths were known, at the time, as bef or beffy. While this is the most-cited etymology, including by the Corps themselves, some etymologists have noted the term's similarity to '''', the Old English term for a menial servant, lit. "loaf-eater", the counterpart of hlaford "loaf-warden" and hlæfdige, which became "lord" and "lady" respectively.{{cite book |title=More Words Ancient and Modern |author-first=Ernest |author-last=Weekley ==History==

The Tudor Yeomen The Yeomen Warders were formed in 1485 by the new King Henry VII, the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. The Tudor rose, a heraldic badge of the dynasty, is part of the badge of the Yeomen Warders to this day. Founded after the Battle of Bosworth, it is the UK's oldest existing military corps and the oldest of the royal bodyguards. The Yeomen Warders provided the permanent garrison of the Tower, but the Constable of the Tower could call upon the men of the Tower Hamlets to supplement them when necessary. The Tower Hamlets was an area significantly larger than the modern London Borough of the same name, which owed military service to the Constable in his ex officio role as Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets. ==Current duties==

, the first female Yeoman Warder In 2018, there were 37 Yeomen Warders and one Chief Warder. At one time they were primarily guards, but more recently their role is mainly ceremonial; they have become greeters and guides for visitors, as part of their 21 duties. All Yeoman Warders are retired members of the armed services. To be appointed, one must be "a former Warrant Officer, class 1 or 2, (or the equivalent rank in other services) and in exceptional circumstances, a Staff Sergeant" from the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, or Royal Marines; must have earned the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (or the Naval or RAF equivalent); and must have served for 22 years in the regular armed services. Until 2009, sailors were ineligible to become Yeomen Warders. This was because sailors of the Royal Navy—unlike soldiers, marines, and airmen—swear an oath of allegiance to the Admiralty rather than the monarch personally; this was changed, however, following the Armed Forces Act 2006. In 2009, sailors became eligible to join the Yeoman Warders after Queen Elizabeth II consented to a petition from the Governor of the Tower to allow Royal Navy senior ratings to serve. In 2009, three male warders were suspended, accused of bullying Cameron; two were dismissed and one was re-instated following the month-long investigation. In December 2018, alongside other employees of Historic Royal Palaces, the yeomen staged walkouts of several hours in protest of planned changes to their pension benefit scheme, the first such action since 1963. In July 2020, Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), the charity that looks after the Tower of London, announced a compulsory redundancy order following losses in tourist revenue from the COVID-19 lockdown. This included the first ever Yeomen Warder redundancies. Compulsory redundancies were avoided, but five warders took voluntary redundancy. As of July 2025, the Chief Yeoman Warder is former RAF serviceman Paul Langley and the Yeoman Gaoler is John Donald, who served with the King’s Royal Hussars. ==Uniforms==

The Yeomen Warders normally wear an "undress" uniform of dark blue with red trimmings. For senior warders from serjeant up, the upper edges of the "undress" uniform's red collar and cuffs are trimmed with gold braid. When the sovereign visits the Tower, or the warders are on duty at a state occasion, they wear red and gold uniforms similar to those of the Yeomen of the Guard. These uniforms are referred to by the Yeoman Warders as the Tudor State Dress. Differences between Yeomen Warders and Yeomen of the Guard , 6 May 2023. The Yeomen Warders are often confused with the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard, the original "Beefeaters", a similar but distinct body. On ceremonial occasions, the Yeomen Warders wear the Yeomen of the Guard's distinctive uniform, which consists of a royal red tunic with purple facings and stripes and gold lace ornaments, red knee-breeches and red stockings, flat hat, and black shoes with red, white and blue rosettes. The gold-embroidered emblems on the back and front of the coats consist of the crowned Tudor Rose, the shamrock and the thistle, the motto Dieu et mon droit, and the royal cypher of the reigning sovereign. The State Dress is often worn without a ruff, which is reserved for highly official occasions. The item of uniform that distinguishes the Yeomen of the Guard from the Yeomen Warders is the red cross-belt or baldric, worn from the left shoulder. This is a relic from the time when the Guard, and not the Warders, carried the harquebus. Paradoxically, the Yeomen Warders wear (like the Yeomen of the Guard) a black shoulder strap on the back, below the left shoulder, originally intended to hold the harquebus bandolier in place. ==Ranks, appointments and insignia==

The rank chevrons point down and are worn on the right upper arm. The Ravenmaster's badge is worn on the right lower arm. When wearing State dress, the Chief Yeoman Warder has a black cane as additional sign of his dignity. Instead, on special or highly official occasions, he carries a ceremonial staff topped by a miniature of the White Tower. The Yeoman Gaoler is the Chief Yeoman Warder's second-in-command. When wearing State dress, he is armed with a Dane axe, a long-handed battle-axe that had originated with the Vikings. In State dress, all Yeoman Warders are armed with saber-hilted swords, with the ordinary Warders and Serjeants also armed with partisans. ==Ravenmaster== Yeoman Warder Ravenmaster (also known as the Ravenmaster for short) is an appointment, not a rank, of that Yeomen Warder responsible for the welfare of the Tower of London ravens. The official title has been in use since the 1960s. It is not known how long the ravens have been living in the Tower of London, but they were resident by the time of King Charles II. Legend maintains that should the ravens ever leave the Tower, the White Tower will fall and disaster will befall the kingdom. When John Flamsteed, the "astronomical observator", complained that the ravens interfered with observatory work, Charles initially ordered them destroyed, but reminded of the legend, the story goes that he decided instead to relocate the Royal Observatory to Greenwich. He decreed that at least six ravens must always remain at the Tower. The presence of captive ravens probably goes back only to the late 19th century. According to one source, a picture of captive ravens from 1883 is the first known reference to the birds. As of 2024, the Yeoman Warder Ravenmaster of the Tower of London is Company Sergeant Major Barney Chandler (a former Royal Marine), who took over from Colour Sergeant Christopher Skaife (a former Drum Major with the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment). Skaife will continue as a Yeoman Warder but taking on other duties. During Skaife's tenure to date, only one raven, Munin, escaped but was captured by a member of the public. Recently, other foods have been introduced to their diet, such as chicks, lamb, mice and pig hearts, as well as peanuts and dog biscuits soaked in blood and fish, in hope that this tactic would reduce the amount of scavenging from the rubbish bins. == Opera ==

The Tower Warders are featured in an 1888 Savoy Opera written by Gilbert and Sullivan. The Yeomen of the Guard is set in the Tower of London during the 16th century, before the two corps were split apart; it concerns what are today the Yeomen Warders. ==References==