Three Coldstream Guards are being investigated by police after they were reportedly involved in a fight with the Queen’s footmen.
The alleged altercation took place outside the Greenwood Sports Pub near Buckingham Palace and left two royal footmen requiring hospital treatment, the Daily Mail reports.
The Coldstream Guards, recognised by their red jackets and black bearskin hats, have a ceremonial role as protectors of Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.
Royal footmen perform a range of duties including serving meals and opening and closing doors.
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokeswoman confirmed three guardsmen were being investigated by the Metropolitan Police following an incident on Friday 24 July.
The altercation was said to have happened outside the bar on Victoria Street, about 800m from Buckingham Palace, as a group of royal footmen were attending leaving drinks.
A source told the Daily Mail that a “bit of banter” developed between the footmen and a group of about four soldiers outside the bar around 11.45pm.
However, it escalated when a guardsman “grabbed hold” of one of the female footmen, resulting in a male colleague stepping in to stop him.
The source claimed: “All of a sudden it was a full-scale punch-up. And the soldiers were more used to fighting than the footmen are. They got quite badly injured.”
One 20-year-old man suffered a fractured eye-socket, while another had a fractured jaw and required stitches in his tongue, the source told the paper.
Two other footmen were said to have been less seriously injured.
An MoD spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that three guards are being investigated by the Met Police following the incident in London on 24 July.”
The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regiment in the British Army and is based at Victoria Barracks in Windsor, west of London.
It is primarily an infantry unit, but is well known for its high profile ceremonial duties.
The Met Police has been contacted for comment.