military_branch william montagu
The Queen ' s Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard are a bodyguard of the British Monarch . The oldest British military corps still in existence , it was created by Henry VII in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth . As a token of this venerability , the Yeomen still wear red and gold uniforms of Tudor style . There are 60 Yeomen of the Guard ( plus six officers ), drawn from retired members of the ___MASK54___ , ___MASK77___ and Royal Air Force , but traditionally not the Royal Navy . This ban on Royal Navy Personnel was lifted in 2011 and two sailors joined the ranks of the Yeomen of the Guard . However , the role of the Captain of the Queen ' s Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a political appointment  the captain is always the government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords . The Captain of the Queen ' s Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a UK government post usually held by the Government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords . The present Captain is Patrick Stopford , 9th Earl of Courtown , who was appointed to the position in the first May ministry in July 2016 . William Angus Drogo Montagu , 9th Duke of Manchester ( 3 March 1877 -- 9 February 1947 ) , styled Lord Kimbolton from 1877 to 1890 and Viscount Mandeville from 1890 to 1892 , was a British peer and Liberal politician . He served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard from 1905 to 1907 under Sir Henry Campbell - Bannerman .