[Icelander]

Calling Brits and Londoners! Or indeed anyone who knows London policemen, has done a lot of research on the Met or maybe just likes to read British police procedurals or watches a lot of British copper shows.

Many of the early recruits to the Shadow Court, by necessity and proximity both, would be members of the security teams surrounding Their Majesties. After all, even in the early stages, when the paranormal is merely a wondrous new field of study which Her Majesty, her mother and a few courtiers around her invesigate out of intellectual curiosity as well as concern about how this might affect their dominions, their subjects and the future of the monarchy, it would be nearly impossible to keep their activities secret from their closest bodyguards.

Later on, when it becomes clear that the supernatural can pose a serious danger to people and that mundane methods may not always suffice to defend against threats posed by it, Prince Phillip will be instrumental in making sure that the protection details of his family are capable of dealing with threats more esoteric than guns, knives and bombs.

As a result, I expect that early recruits among the knuckle-dragging, gun-wielding fraternity of the Shadow Court, later to be affectionately refered to as the Queen's Paranormal Rangers, will be drawn in large part from former royal bodyguards.* They will have been or still are members of the London Metropolitan Police Service Protection Command, mostly from SO14, Royalty Protection, but with DPG (SO6) also being a possibility as a source of some recruits.

Now, does anyone know details about the most common career progressions in the UK police, specifically the London Met?

I'm wondering about things like how soon after finishing the probationary period can a patrol officer expect to be accepted in specialised units or receive specialist training (inc. but not limited to Authorised Firearms Officer)?

How long would a rising thruster expect to serve before he could realistically apply to and be accepted into such units as the Territorial Support Group (fomerly SPG), SCO19 (formerly SO19 and CO19), Diplomatic Protection Group, Special Escort Group or other units within the Specialist and Royalty Protection Command?

How old is the average bodyguard to the royals when he is assigned there? What is his background as a constable, that is, what were his former assignments within the London Met?

I'm particularly interested in royal bodyguards after 1990. The most likely early recruits would have been there in 1990-1995. I'll use fictionalised real people if I can, so by all means suggest them if you know of any, but I'll make up NPCs if I have to.

*HM The Queen, HRH Prince Phillip and HM the Queen Mother all used their influence and contacts to reach out to other potential Rangers eventually, but at first, the Rangers were simply those who happened to be in the know and to possess skills relevant to using violence to solve problems. As a result, the were composed of an odd mixture of former soldiers (particularly SAS men) well-known to the Royals through their familial backgrounds and service at court and SO14 Met constables known to them as bodyguards.

Recruiting people specifically into the Rangers, for their skills at covert action, as opposed to personal connections, didn't really start until after 2005. Also, in all cases, before anyone is recruited, someone in the know already has to know him well enough to be able to confidently assert that he's discreet, trustworthy, utterly loyal to Queen and country and prepared to believe in the existence of the supernatural if shown indications and assured of personal experiences by members of the Shadow Court.