[5] The earliest connection to the Royal Household came as a reference to the Yeomen of the Guard by Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who visited the Court in 1669.

In referring to the Yeomen of the Guard, he stated, "A very large ration of beef is given to them daily at the court, and they might be called Beef-eaters".

[9] Claims that the name derives from buffetier (an Old French term meaning "a waiter or servant" at a sideboard) are often mentioned, since one role of Beefeaters was to attend the king at meals.

The Tower retained the formal status of a royal palace and to mark this a party of twelve Yeomen of the Guard was left in place as a token garrison.

As warders without any ceremonial state functions they forfeited the right to wear the scarlet royal livery of the now separate Yeoman of the Guard.

This was, however, restored to them during the reign of Edward VI (1547–1553), reportedly at the request of a high court official who had been briefly imprisoned in the Tower and was impressed by the behaviour of the warders.

[20][21] In 2009, sailors became eligible to join the Yeoman Warders after Queen Elizabeth II consented to a petition from the Governor of the Tower to allow Royal Navy senior ratings to serve.

[20] The Yeomen Warders and their families live in tied accommodation inside the fortress, paying council taxes and rent.

The community of the Tower of London is made up of Yeoman Warders and their families, the Resident Governor and officers, a chaplain and a doctor.

[23] In December 2018, the yeomen, members of the GMB union, staged walkouts of several hours in protest of planned changes to their pension benefit scheme, the first such action since 1963.

[24] In July 2020, Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), the charity that looks after the Tower of London, announced a compulsory redundancy order following losses in tourist revenue from the COVID-19 lockdown.

For senior warders from serjeant up, the upper edges of the "undress" uniform's red collar and cuffs are trimmed with gold braid.

When the sovereign visits the Tower, or the warders are on duty at a state occasion, they wear red and gold uniforms similar to those of the Yeomen of the Guard.

The gold-embroidered emblems on the back and front of the coats consist of the crowned Tudor Rose, the shamrock and the thistle, the motto Dieu et mon droit, and the royal cypher of the reigning sovereign.

The item of uniform that distinguishes The Yeomen of the Guard from the Tower Warders is the red cross-belt or baldric, worn from the left shoulder.

When wearing State dress, the Chief Yeoman Warder has a black cane as additional sign of his dignity.

Instead, on special or highly official occasions, he carries a ceremonial staff topped by a miniature of the White Tower.

[29] More recently, the Ravenmaster has been clipping less of the wings and feathers, to allow them to fly, instead of merely hopping or gliding, and they can reach the top of the buildings.

[37] Recently, other foods have been introduced to their diet, such as chicks, lamb, mice and pig hearts, as well as peanuts and dog biscuits soaked in blood and fish, in hope that this tactic would reduce the amount of scavenging from the rubbish bins.