British tabloid The Sun has released a 17-second clip of a 7-year-old Elizabeth Nazi saluting. In the clip, the Queen Mother raises her arm in the style of the Nazi salute, with the Queen mimicking the gesture, and Edward VIII (Prince Edward at the time) joining in.
According to the BBC:
A Palace source said: “Most people will see these pictures in their proper context and time. This is a family playing and momentarily referencing a gesture many would have seen from contemporary news reels.
“No one at that time had any sense how it would evolve. To imply anything else is misleading and dishonest.”
In response to Buckingham’s statement that the footage was being exploited, Sun managing editor Stig Abell argued that it held “historical significance” because of the involvement of Prince Edward.
From the BBC:
The then Prince of Wales faced numerous accusations of being a Nazi sympathiser and was photographed meeting Hitler in Munich in October 1937.
Mr Abell said: “We are not using it to suggest any impropriety on behalf of them. But it is an important and interesting issue, the extent to which the British aristocracy – notably Edward VIII, in this case – in the 1930s, were sympathetic towards fascism.
“That must be a matter of national and public interest to discuss. And I think this video and this footage animates that very clearly.”