thumb|right|200px|Yeoman Warder "Beefeater" redirects here. For other uses, see Beefeater . The Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, popularly known as the Beefeaters, are ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London. In principle they are responsible for looking after any prisoners at the Tower and safeguarding the British crown jewels, but in practice they act as tour guides and are a tourist attraction in their own right, a point the Yeoman Warders acknowledge. The Yeomen Warders are often incorrectly referred to as Yeomen of the Guard, which is actually a distinct corps of Royal Bodyguards. W. S. Gilbert shared this confusion by naming his operetta The Yeomen of the Guard when it appears to be about Yeomen Warders. Etymology The name Beefeater is of uncertain origin, with various proposed derivations. The most likely is con