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Queen's Nazi salute video: a royal home movie like no other Queen's Nazi salute video: a royal home movie like no other
(3 months later)
The year was probably 1933, possibly 1934, and in the manicured gardens of a country house on what looks like a summer day, a family are dancing around for the camera.The year was probably 1933, possibly 1934, and in the manicured gardens of a country house on what looks like a summer day, a family are dancing around for the camera.
A young woman looks straight toward the camera and smiles before raising her arm in an unmistakable Nazi salute. Her laughing children giggle and copy the gesture. Then the man in the frame joins in too. But this is not Germany in the first year of the Third Reich, this is Balmoral Castle in Scotland. And the man in the home movie is Edward, later King Edward VIII; the young woman is the wife of the future King George VI, and the two girls are her daughters, Princess Elizabeth and her little sister Margaret.A young woman looks straight toward the camera and smiles before raising her arm in an unmistakable Nazi salute. Her laughing children giggle and copy the gesture. Then the man in the frame joins in too. But this is not Germany in the first year of the Third Reich, this is Balmoral Castle in Scotland. And the man in the home movie is Edward, later King Edward VIII; the young woman is the wife of the future King George VI, and the two girls are her daughters, Princess Elizabeth and her little sister Margaret.
Related: Royals told: open archives on family ties to Nazi regime
What could they have known of the horror that was steadily unfolding in a Germany that was now in the hands of one of the most nefarious regimes in world history?What could they have known of the horror that was steadily unfolding in a Germany that was now in the hands of one of the most nefarious regimes in world history?
Naturally the two little girls would have had no understanding of the significance of their gesture or the dark times that were unfolding in German towns and cities. But disturbing signs of the times were there for others to read.Naturally the two little girls would have had no understanding of the significance of their gesture or the dark times that were unfolding in German towns and cities. But disturbing signs of the times were there for others to read.
Hitler had come to power in January 1933. On 1 April that year a law was passed to exclude Jews from the civil service and from teaching, and there was an organised boycott of Jewish shops and offices. On 27 March the English-language News Week ran pictures of the boycott and burnings of books written by Jewish authors outside libraries. In May, Joseph Goebbels organised another book burning by university students. In October a legal register of “racially pure” journalists in Germany’s newspapers was opened.Hitler had come to power in January 1933. On 1 April that year a law was passed to exclude Jews from the civil service and from teaching, and there was an organised boycott of Jewish shops and offices. On 27 March the English-language News Week ran pictures of the boycott and burnings of books written by Jewish authors outside libraries. In May, Joseph Goebbels organised another book burning by university students. In October a legal register of “racially pure” journalists in Germany’s newspapers was opened.
The Dachau concentration camp was already open, imprisoning homosexuals, communists and anyone else who might be critical of Chancellor Hitler’s new regime. He had already declared an Aryan “master race” and anti-Jewish policies were creating violent social and political exclusion. The persecution and discrimination that was to progress into the murders of the Holocaust was under way. Whether the world was paying sufficient attention is another question.The Dachau concentration camp was already open, imprisoning homosexuals, communists and anyone else who might be critical of Chancellor Hitler’s new regime. He had already declared an Aryan “master race” and anti-Jewish policies were creating violent social and political exclusion. The persecution and discrimination that was to progress into the murders of the Holocaust was under way. Whether the world was paying sufficient attention is another question.
“Of course people knew,” said historian Alex Von Tunzelmann. “It’s completely revisionist to start saying people didn’t know what the Nazis were doing. Nobody thinks the Queen is a Nazi, but that’s not the point. It’s a myth that no one knew in the 1930s what the Nazis were about. Yes of course we do have the advantage of hindsight, but lots of people in 1933 had real concerns about where this was going. The fact is that a lot of people supported the Nazis as we know, a lot of people in the aristocracy thought this was the perfect obstacle to the threat of communism.”“Of course people knew,” said historian Alex Von Tunzelmann. “It’s completely revisionist to start saying people didn’t know what the Nazis were doing. Nobody thinks the Queen is a Nazi, but that’s not the point. It’s a myth that no one knew in the 1930s what the Nazis were about. Yes of course we do have the advantage of hindsight, but lots of people in 1933 had real concerns about where this was going. The fact is that a lot of people supported the Nazis as we know, a lot of people in the aristocracy thought this was the perfect obstacle to the threat of communism.”
Von Tunzelmann is referring to figures such as British fascist and antisemite Oswald Mosley, whose first wedding was attended by George V and his second, to Diana Mitford, in 1936 by Hitler and Goebbels. According to Harry Leslie Smith, an RAF war veteran and author, it was well known that establishment figures and some members of the royal family harboured Nazi sympathies. In 1933 Smith was delivering beer around the streets of Bradford.Von Tunzelmann is referring to figures such as British fascist and antisemite Oswald Mosley, whose first wedding was attended by George V and his second, to Diana Mitford, in 1936 by Hitler and Goebbels. According to Harry Leslie Smith, an RAF war veteran and author, it was well known that establishment figures and some members of the royal family harboured Nazi sympathies. In 1933 Smith was delivering beer around the streets of Bradford.
“I remember the 1930s vividly so I wasn’t surprised when I saw Edward VIII instructing our present Queen along with her adult mother to give the Nazi salute,” he said. “Everyone from my generation knew that many in the royal family as well as from the establishment had Nazi sympathies.“I remember the 1930s vividly so I wasn’t surprised when I saw Edward VIII instructing our present Queen along with her adult mother to give the Nazi salute,” he said. “Everyone from my generation knew that many in the royal family as well as from the establishment had Nazi sympathies.
“The world then was neatly divided between the rich and the poor. Because of the Great Depression hunger was so intense that profound malnutrition stunted the growth of a generation. In 1933 there were no benefits, no NHS, and six million men were unemployed. It was like Armageddon in many neighbourhoods because the poverty caused by austerity and a failed economy was intense and unrelenting.“The world then was neatly divided between the rich and the poor. Because of the Great Depression hunger was so intense that profound malnutrition stunted the growth of a generation. In 1933 there were no benefits, no NHS, and six million men were unemployed. It was like Armageddon in many neighbourhoods because the poverty caused by austerity and a failed economy was intense and unrelenting.
“The dire financial circumstances of the 1930s compelled me to be a child labourer, so adults didn’t treat me as one would treat a 10-year-old today. So I was privy to the angst and anger of my elders who were upset at governments that forgot them and dismissive of royalty who were detached by wealth.“The dire financial circumstances of the 1930s compelled me to be a child labourer, so adults didn’t treat me as one would treat a 10-year-old today. So I was privy to the angst and anger of my elders who were upset at governments that forgot them and dismissive of royalty who were detached by wealth.
“When that photo was taken I was trudging with a barrow down the despair-filled streets of Bradford and didn’t have time to monkey around with my uncles who were trying to keep their own families fed. The photo shows how different politically, economically and emotionally that royal family was to ordinary Britain. Sadly, many like Edward VIII, in positions of authority, became enamoured with Nazism instead of social democracy to fix our social and economic ills,” he said.“When that photo was taken I was trudging with a barrow down the despair-filled streets of Bradford and didn’t have time to monkey around with my uncles who were trying to keep their own families fed. The photo shows how different politically, economically and emotionally that royal family was to ordinary Britain. Sadly, many like Edward VIII, in positions of authority, became enamoured with Nazism instead of social democracy to fix our social and economic ills,” he said.
Historians have pointed out that antisemitism was rife across Europe, as was an overwhelming focus on the “red threat” from communism, rather than the rise of fascism. The German links of the royals were strong – George VI and Edward VIII were both of German descent through their mother Mary of Teck and great-grandfather Prince Albert. Prince Philip had four sisters, three of whom were members of the Nazi party and one married to a Luftwaffe pilot. Philip’s family were not invited to his 1947 wedding to Princess Elizabeth because of how such wartime connections might go down with the public, but they holidayed discreetly at royal houses as family guests. Philip’s friend Prince Bernhard, father of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, was in the SS. He fled to England during the second world war and asked to work in British Intelligence, much to the suspicion of the War Admiralty. But King George VI insisted, even lobbying Churchill, and he was set to work in the Allied War Planning Councils.Historians have pointed out that antisemitism was rife across Europe, as was an overwhelming focus on the “red threat” from communism, rather than the rise of fascism. The German links of the royals were strong – George VI and Edward VIII were both of German descent through their mother Mary of Teck and great-grandfather Prince Albert. Prince Philip had four sisters, three of whom were members of the Nazi party and one married to a Luftwaffe pilot. Philip’s family were not invited to his 1947 wedding to Princess Elizabeth because of how such wartime connections might go down with the public, but they holidayed discreetly at royal houses as family guests. Philip’s friend Prince Bernhard, father of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, was in the SS. He fled to England during the second world war and asked to work in British Intelligence, much to the suspicion of the War Admiralty. But King George VI insisted, even lobbying Churchill, and he was set to work in the Allied War Planning Councils.
Royals were not the only British citizens to throw the salute pre-war. In 1938 the English football team did so at a friendly game in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, causing controversy at home. By then Hitler had annexed Austria.Royals were not the only British citizens to throw the salute pre-war. In 1938 the English football team did so at a friendly game in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, causing controversy at home. By then Hitler had annexed Austria.
Edward VIII, who had abdicated by 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, also gave a Nazi salute to Hitler. Edward first began communicating with Hitler around the time of this footage and was photographed with him in 1937 in Munich – with the Führer hoping he might become his “puppet king”. The sentiments of the Queen’s uncle were “tantamount to treason”, historian John Costello said, as the then-Duke told a reporter during the war: “It would be a tragic thing for the world if Hitler was overthrown, Hitler is the right and logical leader of the German people. Hitler is a very great man.”Edward VIII, who had abdicated by 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, also gave a Nazi salute to Hitler. Edward first began communicating with Hitler around the time of this footage and was photographed with him in 1937 in Munich – with the Führer hoping he might become his “puppet king”. The sentiments of the Queen’s uncle were “tantamount to treason”, historian John Costello said, as the then-Duke told a reporter during the war: “It would be a tragic thing for the world if Hitler was overthrown, Hitler is the right and logical leader of the German people. Hitler is a very great man.”
The Duke of Windsor thought Britain had to be bombed into an alliance with the Third Reich and blamed “Jews and Reds” for the war, says Dr Karina Urbach, a historian at the University of London, She described the Sun’s film as “remarkable” for showing that Edward “was already welcoming the Hitler regime as Prince of Wales”.The Duke of Windsor thought Britain had to be bombed into an alliance with the Third Reich and blamed “Jews and Reds” for the war, says Dr Karina Urbach, a historian at the University of London, She described the Sun’s film as “remarkable” for showing that Edward “was already welcoming the Hitler regime as Prince of Wales”.
“He could well be teaching the Queen and Princess Margaret how to do the salute,” she said. “Hitler’s movement had been growing fast since 1929 and many German relatives of the royal family were attracted to it.“He could well be teaching the Queen and Princess Margaret how to do the salute,” she said. “Hitler’s movement had been growing fast since 1929 and many German relatives of the royal family were attracted to it.
“It is a fascist salute and we know the Queen Mum went to Italy in 1929 and would have seen the Fascist salute. It is really important to understand that the attitude to fascism was determined by the attitude to communism and the royal family is very anti-communist because their relatives were killed by communists. They see fascism as a positive thing.“It is a fascist salute and we know the Queen Mum went to Italy in 1929 and would have seen the Fascist salute. It is really important to understand that the attitude to fascism was determined by the attitude to communism and the royal family is very anti-communist because their relatives were killed by communists. They see fascism as a positive thing.
“My suspicion is that George VI (Edward’s brother) is filming this. He always filmed. It’s a person close to the children filming them and encouraging this.” She said it was time the issue of Edward’s politics was “brought into the open”.“My suspicion is that George VI (Edward’s brother) is filming this. He always filmed. It’s a person close to the children filming them and encouraging this.” She said it was time the issue of Edward’s politics was “brought into the open”.