This is the embarrassing moment a Buckingham Palace guard slipped and fell on a manhole cover in front of hundreds of shocked tourists as he took up position in his sentry box . The Queen 's Guard was left red-faced after he slipped on a manhole cover during the popular Changing of the Guard - and unfortunately for him the entire incident was caught on camera . He lost his footing and slid sideways , knocking his bearskin on the side of the box and dropping his rifle . The Queen 's Guard ( pictured ) slipped on a manhole cover during the popular Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace last week . Unfortunately for him , the entire incident was caught on a tourist 's camera . The embarrassed soldier quickly scrambled to his feet as his colleagues marched past as if nothing had happened . But the young guard started to blush as he peered at the crowd from under his bearskin and realised how many people had seen his slapstick moment . Holidaymaker David Meadwell recorded the unscheduled manouevre outside Buckingham Palace on Thursday afternoon . Mr Meadwell , 50 , from Newcastle-upon-Tyne , said : ' I was with my family for a trip to London and I thought I 'd take some pictures of the changing of the guards . Tourist David Meadwell shot this footage of the Changing of the Guard last week when the incident unfolded . The moment it all started to go wrong : The guard leans heavily to the side as he appears to slip . The unidentified young guard 's legs appear to get a bit tangled as he tries to turn to march away . The guard , wearing full regalia , falls heavily to the floor still clutching his rifle following the slip up . 'The first group changed successfully , without any problems , and so I decided to video the next group doing it . ' I did n't expect anything like this to happen - he went flying . There were quite a few people around and there were a lot of gasps as he went down . ' I think he just slipped on a manhole cover , he looked so embarrassed . ' The unnamed solider is thought to have slipped because of the metal protectors nailed to the soles of his boots . Tourists gather in their thousands to watch the changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace at 11.30am every day in the summer and every other day in the winter . The Guard comprises two detachments , one each for Buckingham Palace and St James 's Palace , under the command of the Captain of The Queen 's Guard . Contrary to popular belief they are not purely ceremonial and are fully operational soldiers . The Ministry of Defence said they would not comment on ' a young man falling over while doing his job ' . The embarrassed guard hastily scrambled to his feet following the unfortunate tumble at the palace . The incident took place in front of hundreds of tourists who were watching the Changing of the Guard .
Buckingham Palace guard slipped and fell in front of hundreds of tourists . Thought to have stumbled on manhole cover during Changing of the Guard . Embarrassed young soldier ended up on the floor still clutching his rifle . Unfortunately for him the entire incident was caught on tourist 's camera .