<P> The Pontifical Swiss Guard (German: Päpstliche Schweizergarde; French: Garde suisse pontificale; Italian: Guardia Svizzera Pontificia; Latin: Pontificia Cohors Helvetica or Cohors Pedestris Helvetiorum a Sacra Custodia Pontificis) is an exception to the Swiss rulings of 1874 and 1927 . A small force maintained by the Holy See, it is responsible for the safety of the Pope, including the security of the Apostolic Palace . The Swiss Guard serves as the de facto military of Vatican City . </P> <P> Swiss Guard units similar to those of France were in existence at several other Royal Courts at the dates indicated below: </P> <Ul> <Li> From 1579 on, a Swiss Guard served the House of Savoy, rulers of Savoy and later the Kingdom of Sardinia . The Guard was dissolved in 1798 . </Li> <Li> From 1696 to 1713, a Swiss Guard served at the court of Frederick I of Prussia . </Li> <Li> a Swiss Guard also existed in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany during the 18th century . </Li> <Li> a Cent - Suisse unit was in existence from 1730 until 1757 and again from 1763 to 1814 in the Kingdom of Saxony . </Li> <Li> a similar unit existed from 1734 until 1789 in the Kingdom of Naples . Swiss line infantry regiments continued to serve in the Neapolitan Army until the 1860s . </Li> <Li> From 1748 until 1796, a company of Swiss (Cent - Suisses) served as a personal guard for the Stadhouder of the Dutch Republic; besides a Dutch Guard Regiment, there was also a Swiss Guard Regiment . William I, the King of the Netherlands, incorporated four regiments of Swiss infantry in the new Dutch Army between 1814 and 1829, of which the 4th (Regiment Swiss nr. 32) served as Guard Infantry, until the Swiss regiments were disbanded and new official Guard Regiments of Grenadiers and Jagers were raised . </Li> <Li> For a brief time (1748--1767) during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa (reigned 1740--1780), approximately 250 to 450 soldiers from Switzerland guarded the Hofburg, the winter palace in Vienna . They replaced previous military units that had performed that duty, and were later replaced by others . The oldest courtyard of the palace is still called the "Swiss Court" (Schweizerhof) in acknowledgement of their 20 - year presence . </Li> <Li> In Portugal, a Swiss regiment was raised by the Count of Lippe on 12 June 1762 . It comprised two battalions (commanded by Colonel Gabriel Thorman and Colonel Marcus Saussure) of 809 men each, consisting of four companies of Swiss troops plus four non-Swiss companies, for a total of 1618 men . Enlistment was for six years, and the soldiers could not be required to serve at sea . Half the soldiers had to be Swiss, while the other half could be made up of Germans and Hungarians . The Portuguese government paid the sum of 2,960,000 reis to raise, arm and equip these two battalions . Colonels paid for their officers . Each soldier earned 4,537 reis per month plus a daily ration of bread . On 22 June 1763, Colonel Gabriel Thorman was sentenced to imprisonment until he returned funds and property embezzled from his regiment, while Colonel Marcus Saussure was sentenced to death for desertion . The regiment was disbanded on 17 September 1763 by a decree that also ordered the raising of a new Swiss regiment (the "Reais Estrangeiros" or "Royal Foreigners"), which met a similar fate to its predecessor . Its eight companies comprised ninety soldiers each, plus the superior and inferior officers . It was ordered dissolved in 1765, and its commander, Colonel Luiz Henrique Graveson, condemned by a council of war to death by hanging . This sentence was commuted to a firing - squad, and the execution was carried out on 15 November 1765, in Campo de Ourique, on 2 January 1766 . </Li> </Ul> <Li> From 1579 on, a Swiss Guard served the House of Savoy, rulers of Savoy and later the Kingdom of Sardinia . The Guard was dissolved in 1798 . </Li>

Who are the swiss guards and what do they do