Inside secret life of bodyguards who protect royals from code names to SAS skill
They are discreet, vigilant, armed, and ready to spring into action - they are the bodyguards for senior royals and A-list celebrities.
Highly trained and always aware of what is around them, bodyguards know that if things go wrong fingers are pointed directly at them. But the notion that a bodyguard would jump in front of a bullet to protect the person they are guarding is unrealistic, according to Billy Billingham.
He insists that a decent bodyguard would avoid a situation where a bullet even comes into the equation. Billy is a former close protection bodyguard who counts Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise and several high-profile diplomats as former clients.
The author of SAS: Who Dares Wins Chief Instructor, told Fabulous: "If you take a bullet, you’re out of the game and your client is going to get it as well so a decent bodyguard will avoid getting in that situation."
There are many misconceptions about the role of Royal Protection Officers. Some are SAS-trained so have perfected their demeanour, etiquette, surveillance, third-party awareness, profiling and even their driving. Meticulous planning is a huge and important part of their role so they spend many weeks scrutinising a royal tour and the locations that will be visited.
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Kate Middleton with her bodyguard Sergeant Emma Probert (Getty Images)Anyone involved is security vetted, local threats are assessed and the closest medical facility must be known by bodyguards who will have been informed about the three quickest routes to get there. Protection officers spend weeks planning a royal visit and months planning which locations are scouted, while people are security vetted and local threats are assessed.
Billy points out that being a bodyguard is not about being a 'hulking V-shaped bloke with earpieces and sunglasses' but 'about what’s in your head and being a leader'. The job is not for the faint-hearted as it comes with a lot of responsibility. Last year Sergeant Emma Probert, the Princess of Wales’ bodyguard, was awarded the Royal Victorian Order by Prince William in recognition of her service to the royal household.
Emma is part of the Royalty Protection Group, codenamed S014 and is often mistaken for the a royal nanny. However Emma is martial arts-trained, carries a 9mm Glock pistol and a Taser stun gun. Emma was seated in the front seat of the Rolls Royce that took Kate to her wedding to Prince William in 2011.
SO14 is made up of between 110 and 185 senior police officers and was formed in 1983. The unit has a special escort group with motorcycle outriders who provide protection when royals travel. While uniformed officers look after the physical security of the royal palaces, royal protection officers like Emma are responsible for personal security.
Billy Billingham is a former bodyguard (Minnow Films)There will always be at least one protection officer with a member of the royal family, but the protection team is increased according to threat and risk. Royal bodyguards use code names for the people they are protecting usually starting with the same initials.
King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla and the Cambridge family have round-the-clock protection and the monarch even has an officer based outside his bedroom door. As part of their remit bodyguards also monitor an array of technology placed around Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle which includes hi-tech cameras, security beams and pressure pads.
Simon Morgan, former royal protection officer said that one of the biggest challenges for him was looking after Princes William and Harry when they were younger. He said: “We would ask them about their plans for the weekend and like a lot of young people they would day ‘dunno yet, waiting on a call’.
Simon added that they would get a phone call and tell him they were going out but didn't know where so guards were wandering around with them not knowing 100% where they were going. Simon said that the main threats to the royals are anti-monarchists, protesters and ‘fixated individuals who want to do harm’ adding the ‘only have to get it right once’.
Emma is made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order by the Prince of Wales (PA)
The Duchess of Cornwall accompanied by her female Police Protection Officer (Getty Images)High profile clients who do a 'walkabout' to meet fans present one of the biggest challenge to all bodyguards. According to Billy, one of the biggest challenges for all bodyguards guarding high profile principals is the ‘walkabout’ to meet fans. He said: "You must think ahead and read the crowd, understand behaviour and know the signs to look for. He said selfies create some of the biggest headaches as the client must not lean into the person taking it.
Billy explains why it is also important to have a close relationship with the person you are guarding as there needs to be a line that is not overstepped. Princess Diana was so close to her bodyguard, Barry Mannakee, that she once suggested he was her ‘greatest love’. He looked after her between 1984 and 1986 but was moved from the post following concerns Diana had grown too close to him. When Barry died in motorbike accident in 1987 Diana later said she believed he had been "bumped off"
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Billy warned: “You can’t get complacent, but you have to have a good relationship and get to know how they think.” However not all bodyguards get close to their clients. Paul Page guarded Prince Andrew when he was in SO14 and later revealed the controversial royal 's bed was covered in teddy bears at Windsor Castle. He also claimed maids were given a laminated photo to show exactly how they should be laid out.
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