The Yeomen of the Guard Searching the Crypt of the Houses of Parliament

A party of Yeomen of the Guard, consisting of three officers, a sergeant-major and eleven men, are shown searching the crypt of Houses of Parliament for possible explosives. This ceremony, which takes place annually at opening of the Parliamentary session, was initiated after the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Guy Fawkes, along with his fellow conspirators, nearly succeeded in blowing up the building with the King, Lords and Commons assembled inside. The uniform of the Yeomen of the Guard has changed little since Tudor times and includes a ruff, a partizan (an infantry weapon) with a red and gold tassel, a sword and a crossbelt.