A row of newspapers on display including the paper with a photo of Britain's Queen Elizabeth as a child giving a Nazi salute, in a shop, in London. Photo / AP
A row of newspapers on display including the paper with a photo of Britain's Queen Elizabeth as a child giving a Nazi salute, in a shop, in London. Photo / AP
Archive footage of the Queen and Queen Mother apparently raising a Nazi salute in 1933 may have been inadvertently given to documentary makers filming a royal family tribute.
Buckingham Palace is understood to be investigating how the material ended up in the hands of the Sun.
It is considering allavenues, including theft and possible breaches of copyright. It may have been handed over by mistake.
The tabloid published a 17-second excerpt, seemingly showing the future Queen, aged just 7, and her mother performing a Nazi salute.
The Queen's uncle - who became Edward VIII, later abdicated and was accused of being a Nazi sympathiser - is also featured in the footage performing the salute.
It is thought the future King George VI, the Queen's father, was behind the camera.
The footage is understood to be part of a vast collection of photographs, correspondence and home movies that make up the royal archive, housed in the Round Tower at Windsor Castle.
The Sun has refused to disclose the source but said "the original film remains under lock and key". It added that "several copies of the clip were made several years ago" and it had been handed one copy.
Senior sources told the Sunday Telegraph it was inconceivable that anybody working in the royal archive would have leaked such material because of their "loyalty" to the royal family. Outside access to the archive is "rare" and "tightly controlled".
Film-makers make requests for access to home movie footage for documentaries including tribute programmes.
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