Royal Protection Officer Reveals Most Challenging Part Of Working For Royal Family

A royal protection officer, who spent years guarding Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, recently opened up about the most challenging part of his job.

Simon Morgan shared on BBC One’s drama “Bodyguard” that it’s always difficult to watch over the royals during their walkabouts.

“The most pressured part of a protection officer’s role is a walkabout with the royal family. They are very much principals of the people and they want to go to speak to the public and the public wants to speak to them. It may only last for 15 to 20 minutes but it’s mentally draining. You’ll go back into the safety of a vehicle or a building afterward and think, ‘That was hard,’” he said (via Express).

Morgan added that it is his responsibility to constantly check out the people in the crowd.

“You’re looking at hands, you’re looking at eye contact, you’re looking at dress – that’s very relevant at a time like this when we are dealing with suicide bomber-type scenarios. Why has someone got a very heavy winter coat on a lovely summer’s day? All these little signs are part of what gets built up as part of your operational profile,” he said.

The royal protection officer revealed that he used to carry a Glock 17 in a side holster every time when he was guarding the royal family. His Glock 17 was hidden from view under his jacket.

“UK protection is all about being discreet and unobtrusive. It’s not about a show of force. The [US] Secret Service do things differently. There was always the potential that something could happen and you were always thinking, ‘What if?’ What if I open the door now and we have an IED [improvised explosive device] go off? What if I open the door now and we take shots? What if I open the door now and the principal falls out of the car because we haven’t parked in the right place and they step into a pothole? What if? What if? What if?” he said.