yeoman of the guard

American  

noun

1. a member of the bodyguard of the English sovereign, instituted in 1485, which now consists of 100 men, including officers, having purely ceremonial duties.

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yeoman of the guard British  

noun

1. a member of the bodyguard ( Yeomen of the Guard ) of the English monarch. This unit was founded in 1485 and now retains ceremonial functions only

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Etymology

Origin of yeoman of the guard

First recorded in 1475–85

Example Sentences

They paced the length of the gallery in silence, past the yeoman of the guard, who kept his watch, and into the first antechamber.

From The Historical Nights' Entertainment Second Series by Sabatini, Rafael

David somehow secured the favour of Henry VII., to whom he seems to have been yeoman of the guard.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" by Various

Among the yeoman of the guard of John Frederick, Duke of Hanover, there was one Christopher Munster, 8 1/2 feet high, who died in 1676 in his forty-fifth year.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)

After this the yeoman of the guard led his party to a great many other curious places.

From Rollo in London by Abbott, Jacob

Does Your Reverence know, that though I never rose higher yet than to be an officer's servant, I am to be a yeoman of the guard.

From The Loyalists, Vol. 1-3 An Historical Novel by West, Jane