History Main / CadreOfForeignBodyguards

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* ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery'' has Dr. Evil and Random Task, a parody of Oddjob.

* ''Film/StarWarsReturnOfTheJedi'': Jabba the Hutt relies on brutish Gamorrean guards for security. {{Justified}} because Hutts aren't exactly fit for combat, as shown by [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/1/19/JabbaPromo.png/revision/latest?cb=20161110010925 this image of what passes for fit among the Hutts]].

* In ''Film/KaamelottPremierVolet'', tyrant Lancelot hires a bunch of Saxon mercenaries led by Horsa to help enforce his ReignOfTerror. They're expensive, but they're also good at their job, which is something quite rare in the Medieval Morons-populated kingdom of Logres. Also, there's Quarto the slave merchant, who has two idiotic Visigoth henchmen/bodyguards.

* ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' and his bodyguard, Oddjob.

* The UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire followed the Roman tradition, hiring personal guards during its long history from such diverse foreign ethnicities as Armenians, Kievan Rus, Scandinavians, Anglo-Saxons, Normans, Sicilians, and Turks. The most famous of these cadres was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_army#Foreign_and_mercenary_soldiers The Varangian Guard]], which was first recruited from the Rus and later became a favoured career option for Scandinavians. After the Norman conquest of England, many Anglo-Saxons who were unwilling to submit to Norman rule migrated to Byzantium and joined the Varangian Guard. Unlike the Praetorian Guard, they were notoriously loyal, but [[LoytalToThePosition more to the position of Emperor than the individual]] (i.e. they'd try to stop any overt assassins, and never tried to assassinate an Emperor themselves, but if you succeeded in unseating an Emperor they'd serve your or your designated Emperor as well as they had his predecessor).

* The UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire followed the Roman tradition, hiring personal guards during its long history from such diverse foreign ethnicities as Armenians, Kievan Rus, Scandinavians, Anglo-Saxons, Normans, Sicilians, and Turks. The most famous of these cadres was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_army#Foreign_and_mercenary_soldiers The Varangian Guard]], which was first recruited from the Rus and later became a favoured career option for Scandinavians. After the Norman conquest of England, many Anglo-Saxons who were unwilling to submit to Norman rule migrated to Byzantium and joined the Varangian Guard. Unlike the Praetorian Guard, they were notoriously loyal, but more to the position of Emperor than the individual.

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** It's possible [[EliteFour the Shitennou]] were/are this to Endymion and his reincarnation Mamoru in the manga and ''Crystal'' [[note]]Averted in the live-action and musicals since they're played by Japanese actors and have Japanese civilian names; averted in the 90s anime since they're not even connected to him there, much less guard him . . . and are implied to be Japanese since nobody comments on them looking non-Japanese, not even [[AmbiguouslyBrown Kunzite]]. Also Jadeite and Nephrite have Japanese aliases and Zoisite's obsessed with cherry blossoms.[[/note]]. In these versions they're assigned areas to look for the Legendary Silver Crystal (Europe for Zoisite, North America for Nephrite, East Asia for Jadeite, and the Middle East for Kunzite) and it'd be easier for them to be natives of their respective regions so as not to draw attention to themselves, especially since there's not a whole lot of Japanese people outside of Japan and they tend to be concentrated in certain areas in countries where there ''is'' a sizable population (i.e. the West Coast of the US). Jadeite could still be Japanese, but his ability to blend in in other East Asian countries would then have to rely on [[RacialFaceBlindness all Asians looking alike]] and it'd be weird that he saved Japan for last, instead of looking there first. Making it harder is the fact that {{Mukokuseki}} is fully in effect for them; they don't really look like they come from anywhere and their origins are never explicitly stated. The closest we get is a mention in the Materials Collection that [[CreatorsPet Kunzite]] has the air of a Middle Eastern king or something similar, seemingly confirming that he's supposed to be Middle Eastern, which then doesn't make it too far-fetched for the others. Since Endymion is prince of the Earth and Mamoru future king, it'd be nice to avert TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse for once. Regardless of canonicity, it's definitely {{fanon}} for some parts of the fandom and there are fics where they're explicitly stated to be non-Japanese; assignment of ethnicity mostly follows the regions given above (which means Jadeite averts it when he's the token Japanese member of the group), except for [[DoubleStandard Kunzite]]. For some odd reason, it's very hard to find a fic where he's Middle Eastern even though he has the closest thing to a canon ethnicity out of the four.
* In ''Manga/DanceInTheVampireBund'', [[VampireMonarch Princess Mina's]] use of the Earth Clan as her personal guard has [[FurAgainstFang clear]] overtones of this. However it is fundamentally an inversion as aside from some trusted human confidants and a defector or two whose whole chain of sires are confirmed as irretrievably dead, the [[NobleWolf werewolves oath-sworn to guard her]] are the only beings in the Bund whose obedience Mina ''cannot'' compel if she had to.

* ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' and his bodyguard, Oddjob.
* ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery'' has Dr. Evil and Random Task, a parody of Oddjob.
* ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'': Jabba the Hutt relies on brutish Gamorrean guards for security. {{Justified}} because Hutts aren't exactly fit for combat, as shown by [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/1/19/JabbaPromo.png/revision/latest?cb=20161110010925 this image of what passes for fit among the Hutts]].

* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'':
** The bodyguards for the Hereditary President of the People's Republic of Haven are all from Neo Geneva, partially due to tradition but mostly because (rightly) doesn't trust any Havenites and the Genevans have a reputation for the utmost loyalty. They're intended to be a parallel to the French Kings' Gardes-Suisses (see Real Life).
** Honor's armsmen hail from Grayson, prompting some ruffled feathers when she has to take ''armed'' foreign nationals onto Her Majesty's warships. Though this is ''technically'' an aversion, because Honor has dual Manticoran and Grayson citizenship (and titles).

* In ''Literature/StarTrekVanguard'', the KnowledgeBroker Chathani has several Anticans serving as her bodyguards. She mentions that Antican guards are known across the Taurus Reach for their loyalty, and thus it's implied a fully Antican detail is a status symbol.

* Subverted in ''[[Literature/TalesOfTheBranionRealm The Granite Shield]]'', in which knights from an [[FantasyCounterpartCulture alternate England]] cross the border to protect a Welsh pretender to their own throne during a religious schism between the two.

* It being a fantasy version of UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire the Videssian emperor in various books by Creator/HarryTurtledove has his Halogaland guard of large men with axes from the frozen north.

* In ''Literature/DiamondSwordWoodenSword'', the Emperor of Mel'in is guarded by naturalized Freefolk warriors.
* In ''Literature/TheLongShips'' Orm and his companions serve in the Almohad Caliph Al-Mansur's bodyguard for several years. Orm's brother Are and Olof Summerbird both served in the Varangian Guard in Constantinople.

* In ''Literature/TheBlackCompany'', in the later novels, the leaders of Taglios, the officers of the Black Company, and at least one Shadowmaster have foreign bodyguards.

* In ''Literature/EuricoThePresbyter'', the Arabs are served by Sudanese warriors that act as guardsmen and bodyguards for their emirs and sheikhs.
* A heroic example in ''Literature/Aeon14''. After the Battle of New Canaan and the start of the CivilWar in the Transcend, New Canaan's Intrepid Space Force provides [[SpaceMarine ISF Marines]] as the bodyguards for Transcend President Sera Tomlinson ([[ActionGirl though she's quite capable of bodyguarding herself]]).

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'', mercenaries and bodyguards are one of the main exports of Darguun, a nation of traditional monster races. (That's one of them in the page image above.)
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' features a little GeniusBonus; the corrupt, convoluted, falling empire of Taldor, inheritors of a proud legacy that is being drained out through war and internal strife, has a bunch of Ulfen Guard serving the royals as their elite. The Taldans, geographically, come close to being an Expy for the Byzantines. The Ulfen are culturally the ThemeParkVersion of vikings. See RealLife, below.

* In ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance 2'' while Deidranna mainly uses WeHaveReserves forced conscripts, at least one (the others may be, but they don't have names or faces) of her close bodyguards are foreign mercenaries. Of course, by the game's premise, all but a small handful of the party are foreign mercs as well.
* The relationship between the hanar and the drell in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' is this trope on a species level. Since the hanar rescued the drell from dying out on their starved and overpopulated homeworld, many drell choose to serve them in some fashion and serve as assassins for them.

* One of the possible endings for [[PlayerCharacter Spectre's]] mercenary company in ''Videogame/{{MechWarrior}} 4: Mercenaries'' is to earn a cushy contract serving as these for Peter Davion-Steiner's regime after helping lead them to victory over their rivals ([[BigScrewedUpFamily the Steiner-Davions]]). Spectre even notes that [[WrittenByTheWinners the "official histories"]] downplayed his role but, hey, he's [[MoneyDearBoy getting paid enough not to care]].
* The Kingsglaive in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' are tasked with the protection of the Lucian royal family and carrying out other sensitive missions outside the purview of the regular military. The prequel film ''Anime/KingsglaiveFinalFantasyXV'' reveals that almost all the members of the Kingsglaive are immigrants from Lucian vassal states. This turns out to be a problem when Lucis's negotiations with TheEmpire and its expanding borders means politics stops being local and starts affecting their homelands.
* Prince Sebastian Lacroix in ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' has a hulking African vampire, who is completely mute, [[TheDragon as his Sheriff]]. Considering vampires normally tend to be {{Manipulative Bastard}}s who avoid direct confrontation if they can avoid it, his unknown origins, inability/unwillingness to speak and physical power makes him very good at his job. [[spoiler:He is the FinalBoss of the game if you choose to go after Lacroix in the ending.]]

* ''VideoGame/CrusaderKingsII'' lets you recruit landless foreign noblemen and use them as {{Mook Commander}}s. They usually have to be in your own religious group (otherwise the fact that you're infidels relative to each other tends to put the noble's RelationshipValues below the required threshold), but it's completely possible to be an Irish Catholic duke with a Greek or African general leading your army.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': Isis is hired to protect the pope from an assassination plot by a group of Swiss guards. [[OnlySaneMan Lana]] is incensed to discover that [[BunnyEarsLawyer Archer]]'s opinion of them is based on their ceremonial gear, and didn't bring guns because they won't need them against halberds, which he notes aren't very practical.
-->"Of ''course'' they aren't! That's why ''now''... they carry '''[=MP5s=]'''!"

* The UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire followed the Roman tradition, hiring personal guards during its long history from such diverse foreign ethnicities as Armenians, Kievan Rus, Scandinavians, Anglo-Saxons, Normans, Sicilians and Turks. The most famous of these cadres was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_army#Foreign_and_mercenary_soldiers The Varangian Guard]], which was first recruited from the Rus and later became a favoured career option for Scandinavians. After the Norman conquest of England, many Anglo-Saxons who were unwilling to submit to Norman rule migrated to Byzantium and joined the Varangian Guard. Unlike the Praetorian Guard, they were notoriously loyal, but more to the position of Emperor than the individual.

* The Middle Eastern TropeCodifier may be the Circassian Guard which protects the King of Jordan. They are drawn from the Circassian people, which originate from north of the Black Sea before being scattered from their homeland. They continue to wear colder-climate uniforms, including wool hats, leather boots and capes while guarding the kings of the desert country.

** A less ostentatious variant are Incubi, who are Dark Eldar, but hail from a different Kabal. Since they aren't actually underlings of the Archon they're guarding, this protects both their charge ''and'' their true masters from the possibility of KlingonPromotion at the same time, while making one of them safer and the other richer.

** For a short time, Tyrion Lannister has bodyguards who are leaders of the various mountain clans that he has recently recruited. The mountain clans are from within the borders of the Seven Kingdoms but exist outside of its feudal society. Although not suited to the DeadlyDecadentCourt of Kings Landing, Tyrion wants soldiers who are loyal to him personally, as opposed to Lannister household guards who might be beholden to another member of his BigScrewedUpFamily.

** It's possible [[EliteFour the Shitennou]] were/are this to Endymion and his reincarnation Mamoru in the manga and ''Crystal'' [[note]]Averted in the live-action and musicals since they're played by Japanese actors and have Japanese civilian names; averted in the 90s anime since they're not even connected to him there, much less guard him . . . and are implied to be Japanese since nobody comments on them looking non-Japanese, not even [[AmbiguouslyBrown Kunzite]]. Also Jadeite and Nephrite have Japanese aliases and Zoisite's obsessed with cherry blossoms.[[/note]]. In these versions they're assigned areas to look for the Legendary Silver Crystal (Europe for Zoisite, North America for Nephrite, East Asia for Jadeite, and the Middle East for Kunzite) and it'd be easier for them to be natives of their respective regions so as not to draw attention to themselves, especially since there's not a whole lot of Japanese people outside of Japan and they tend to be concentrated in certain areas in countries where there ''is'' a sizable population (i.e. the West Coast of the US). Jadeite could still be Japanese, but his ability to blend in in other East Asian countries would then have to rely on [[IdenticalLookingAsians all Asians looking alike]] and it'd be weird that he saved Japan for last, instead of looking there first. Making it harder is the fact that {{Mukokuseki}} is fully in effect for them; they don't really look like they come from anywhere and their origins are never explicitly stated. The closest we get is a mention in the Materials Collection that [[CreatorsPet Kunzite]] has the air of a Middle Eastern king or something similar, seemingly confirming that he's supposed to be Middle Eastern, which then doesn't make it too far-fetched for the others. Since Endymion is prince of the Earth and Mamoru future king, it'd be nice to avert TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse for once. Regardless of canonicity, it's definitely {{fanon}} for some parts of the fandom and there are fics where they're explicitly stated to be non-Japanese; assignment of ethnicity mostly follows the regions given above (which means Jadeite averts it when he's the token Japanese member of the group), except for [[DoubleStandard Kunzite]]. For some odd reason, it's very hard to find a fic where he's Middle Eastern even though he has the closest thing to a canon ethnicity out of the four.

* The UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire followed the Roman tradition, hiring personal guards during its long history from such diverse foreign ethnicities as Armenians, Kievan Rus, Scandinavians, Anglo-Saxons, Normans, Sicilians and Turks. The most famous of these cadres was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_army#Foreign_and_mercenary_soldiers The Varangian Guard]], which was first recruited from the Rus and later became a favoured career option for Scandinavians, including Harald Hardrada before he became King of Norway. Popular legend has it that the Emperor didn't want Harald to leave, so Harald escaped, and nicked about a third of the treasury in the process. Harald later tried to conquer England in 1066, and died there at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Soon after, his enemies the Anglo-Saxons, now under the thumb of the Normans, started moving east and working as Varangian guards themselves. Unlike the Praetorian Guard, they were notoriously loyal, but more to the position of Emperor than the individual.

* The UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire followed the Roman tradition, hiring personal guards during its long history from such diverse foreign ethnicities as Armenians, Kievan Rus, Scandinavians, Anglo-Saxons, Normans, Sicilians and Turks. The most famous of these cadres was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_army#Foreign_and_mercenary_soldiers The Varangian Guard]], which was founded by the Rus and later became a favoured career option for Scandinavian nobles, including Harald Hardrada before he became King of Norway. Popular legend has it that the Emperor didn't want Harald to leave, so Harald escaped, and nicked about a third of the treasury in the process. Harald later tried to conquer England in 1066, and died there at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Soon after, his enemies the Anglo-Saxons, now under the thumb of the Normans, started moving east and working as Varangian guards themselves. Unlike the Praetorian Guard, they were notoriously loyal, but more to the position of Emperor than the individual.

* The UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire followed the Roman tradition, hiring personal guards during its long history from such diverse foreign ethnicities as Armenians, Kievan Rus, Scandinavians, Anglo-Saxons, Normans, Sicilians and Turks. The most famous of these cadres was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_army#Foreign_and_mercenary_soldiers The Varangian Guard]], which was founded by the Rus and later became a favoured career option for Scandinavian nobles - including Harald Hardrada, before he became King of Norway (popular legend has it that the Emperor didn't want him to leave, so he escaped, and nicked about a third of the treasury in the process), tried to conquer England in 1066, before being killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge - and exiled Anglo-Saxons post-conquest. Unlike the Praetorian Guard, they were notoriously loyal, but more to the position of Emperor than the individual.

** The Shugoki class were originally this for the Dawn Empire. The trailer for the class states that the Shugoki were new allies who joined the Dawn Empire's people when they settled their new lands, and served as bodyguards and protectors. Since then, they have "become as family" to the people living in the Dawn Empire, to the point that two Shugoki are considered Daimyo who can vie for the Imperial throne. It is strongly implied that the Shugoki are actually descendants of native Vikings in the region, which is supported by not just their massive size (with only the Vikings' warlord and Raider classes being of comparable stature) but also certain Shugoki helmets have red or blond hair and beards.
** During the special "Emperor's Escape" event which was available during the Zhanhu's release, the Wu Lin's emperor Gao Lei has to flee from his palace while being attacked by Blackstone Legion invaders. The players are tasked with serving as his bodyguards and [[EscortMission protecting him as he flees the battlefield]], and can come from any of the four factions, making them fall under this trope.

* In ''Videogame/ForHonor'', the Shugoki class were originally this for the Dawn Empire. The trailer for the class states that the Shugoki were new allies who joined the Dawn Empire's people when they settled their new lands, and served as bodyguards and protectors. Since then, they have "become as family" to the people living in the Dawn Empire, to the point that two Shugoki are considered Daimyo who can vie for the Imperial throne. It is strongly implied that the Shugoki are actually descendants of native Vikings in the region, which is supported by not just their massive size (with only the Vikings' warlord and Raider classes being of comparable stature) but also certain Shugoki helmets have red or blond hair and beards.

* In ''Videogame/ForHonor'', the Shugoki class were originally this for the Dawn Empire. The trailer for the class states that the Shugoki were new allies who joined the Dawn Empire's people when they settled their new lands, and served as bodyguards and protectors. Since then, they have "become as family" to the people living in the Dawn Empire, to the point that two Shugoki are considered Daimyo who can vie for the Imperial throne.

* The Keshik of the Mongol Empire are an interesting subversion. Founded by UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan, Keshik were sworn to indiviudual Khans but not to the position itself. Because of this, each new Khan had to hire a new generation of Keshik. Genghis Khan's consisted of Han Chinese, Manchurians, Kazakhs, and fellow Mongols. Later Khans would hire an even more diverse array which at different points included Persians, Georgians, Armenians, Alans, Koreans, Italians, and Russians.

* The Eastern TropeCodifier? The Circassian Guard which protects the King of Jordan.

* The Walloon Guards. Walloons from Belgium who protected the monarchs of Spain from 1734 to 1820.
* In 1373 the ruling regent of Cyprus, John of Antioch, was convinced by his sister-in-law, Eleanor, that his Bulgarian bodyguards were going to betray him, and had them all thrown off the highest tower of St Hilarion Castle. Eleanor had him killed a very short time later.
* The Presidential Guard of Gabon was officered until the late 90s by veterans of the French Foreign Legion, particularly the disbanded 1st Parachute Regiment. One of them, Louis-Pierre "Loulou" Martin, served President Omar Bongo from 1967 to 1993.

* As a ProudWarriorRace, the Noghri in the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' often appear in this role. Notably, the titular Grand Admiral in ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'' invokes their species' debt to the Empire to secure their services as his bodyguards and assassins. In the same trilogy, Leia picks up a pair of Noghri bodyguards as well, due to her status as "Lady Vader." She keeps these bodyguards for years afterwards.

* El Patron of ''Literature/HouseOfTheScorpion'' had a bunch of Scottish hooligans as bodyguards, including a couple former terrorists.

*** Though there haven't been any Tsaesci Blades in centuries but later genertations of the Blades still had strong influence from the Tsaesci. Blades armor, weapons, and architecture is all strongly influenced by the Tsaesci, who had a [[FantasyCounterpart very Japanese aesthetic]] compared to the Tamriel's [[StandardFantasyWorld largely European one]].

* In ''ABalladOfTheDragonAndSheWolf'' Daenerys has the Queensguard, which consists of a Northerner, a Stormlander, a Lhazarene, a Basilisk Islander, a Meerenese, and two of uncertain origin.

** Though there haven't been any Tsaesci Blades in centuries but later genertations of the Blades still had strong influence from the Tsaesci. Blades armor, weapons, and architecture is all strongly influenced by the Tsaesci, who had a [[FantasyCounterpart very Japanese aesthetic]] compared to the Tamriel's [[StandardFantasyWorld largely European one]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'', protagonist Corvo Attano is not a native of the island of Gristol where the game takes place, and whose Empress he is the bodyguard of. However, this isn't a regular occurrence. In fact, Corvo is the ''first'' non-Gristolian Royal Protector in recorded history, and there is much speculation in-universe as to what bearing this has on his actions and motivations.