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

At which speech of the cobbler's the king had much ado to forbear laughing out, but keeping his countenance as steady as he could before the cobbler, he spoke to the yeoman of the guard.

From Amusing Prose Chap Books by Various

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

From Rollo in London by Abbott, Jacob

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)

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

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