BEEFEATERS who live at the Tower of London struggle with no home insurance because of “high crime rate” – despite it being a fortress.
Those staying at the 1,000 year old castle are reportedly cheated out of insurance because the Tower windows have no locks.
Life for the iconic guards was explored by Sandi Toksvig on an episode of QI, in which she revealed the unknown difficulties that come with the job.
She explained: “Beefeaters living in the Tower of London could not get home insurance because they live in Tower Hamlets, which also has a high crime rate, and the windows in the Tower have no locks on them.”
A former live-in Yeoman warder told the Mirror: “It can be a bit of a nightmare.
“And as for house insurance, you tell them you live in the Tower of London and once you’ve convinced them you’re not joking you should see what happens to the premium! It goes through the roof – you’d think it’d be the opposite with the security.”
Last year Comedian Tom Houghton shared his experience of living in the tourist hotspot.
In an Instagram post, Tom said: “I was living down in Brighton with my comedy group. I left my comedy group to pursue a solo career.
“When I did that I moved to London, in order to get more opportunities but I had to take a financial hit and I was then left with a dilemma of where to live.
“I had a choice: either rent a cupboard in zone five for £7,000 an hour or the once in a lifetime opportunity of living rent free with my dad in the centre in the great big historical palace.
“Well, Cinderella went to that ball and now I live here.”
And while showing off how he loved his life in the tower, he also revealed one aspect that made it tough.
In one comedic video “Trying to order pizza to the Tower of London”, Tom details his struggles while trying to do simple, everyday things, because takeaways don’t often believe him when he tells them his address.
He jokes: “Perfect yeah the delivery address is the Tower of London… Because that’s where I live… I promise you I’m not lying… because people do actually live there…
“Lots of people live there… not him obviously because he died 400 years ago…
“You won’t actually be able to literally deliver it to my front door… Well, you won’t be able to get past the battle gates… or the moat…”
Some live-in Beefeaters across the years have also claimed to experience paranormal encounters.
Chief Yeoman Warder Pete McGowran, 63, has lived in the Tower of London for 14 years and worked his way up through the ranks.
He described his supernatural experience and said: “It was about 2.30am and I was sleeping in an old metal bed.
“Suddenly, the bottom of it was getting lifted and dropped, lifted and dropped, for about 20 seconds.
“I lay there, waiting to see what would happen next. I didn’t want to open my eyes, I wanted to see how far the experience would go. But then it stopped.”
He also explained: “People have seen things over the years, things like doors opening without warning and drawers opening in the kitchen.
“People have even seen things coming out of walls.
“I don’t dismiss that there is something other worldly out there, especially in the Tower of London.
“So much has happened here and so many people have had experiences.”
The full title of a Beefeater is in fact: “The Yeomen Warders of His Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign’s Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary”.
They were formed in 1485 by King Henry VII – but where the name originates from has been the subject of many theories.
One is that they were allowed to eat as much beef as they desired when eating with the King.
Another is that they were paid in beef rather than money.
It is also thought that Henry VIII, who had two of his wives executed at the Tower, was worried about being poisoned by their supports, so got his bodyguards to taste his food.
One more theory suggests that in the middle ages the families living in the Tower of London would feast on meat – whilc the poor outside could not afford the luxury and existed on vegetables and fish.
Beefeaters are retired from the British Armed Forces with at least 22 years of military service.
They have to be a former Warrant Officer, class 1 or 2, (or the equivalent rank in other services) and in exceptional circumstances, a Staff Sergeant, from the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force or Royal Marines.
They are aged between 40 and 55 when appointed in the role and would need to have earned a long service and good conduct medal.
