A Swedish soldier has critically injured himself after slipping and impaling himself through the head with his own bayonet while guarding the country’s royalty.
The soldier, who has not yet been named, reportedly slipped and fell on his own bayonet, causing it to penetrate his head behind his ear as he stood guard outside Stockholm Palace on Saturday.
While his injuries were initially assessed as life-threatening after he was taken to hospital, he is now in a stable condition following surgery.
Since the near-fatal incident, Sweden’s royal guard have temporarily asked its soldiers to detach their bayonets from their guns.
P4, a local radio broadcaster, reported that the force has also increased efforts to grit paths to minimise the risk of slipping.
Richard Beck-Friis, the head of the Commandant’s Staff, said there was no reason to completely stop using bayonets.
Sweden’s King Carl Gustaf and his wife, Queen Silvia, sent flowers to the injured man on Monday.
Gustaf told Expressen: ‘I haven’t heard the latest today about how he’s doing, but the doctors have been fantastically good. I hope he doesn’t suffer any harm from this.’
A Swedish soldier has critically injured himself after slipping and impaling himself through the head with his own bayonet while guarding the country’s royalty (File image)
The soldier, who has not yet been named, reportedly slipped and fell on his own bayonet, causing it to penetrate his head behind his ear as he stood guard outside Stockholm Palace (File image)
He added: ‘I’m keeping my fingers crossed that things go well for that guy.’
Soldiers in Sweden’s royal guard have protected the country’s royal family since 1523, making it one of the oldest military units in the world.
The title of oldest military unit in the world goes to Spain’s Infantry Regiment ‘Inmemorial del Rey’ No. 1.
The senior regiment in the Spanish army was set up in 1248 by King Ferdinand III of Castille.
Since 1862, all heirs to the Spanish throne have enrolled as honorary soldiers in the unit.
In 1997, King Felipe, Spain’s current monarch, followed this tradition and enrolled as a soldier in the unit.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
