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Disturbing Photo Shows Queen Elizabeth Doing the Nazi Salute With Her Family

One of the worst scandals to haunt the royal family was the surfacing of a 17-second video of a young Queen Elizabeth II doing the Nazi salute; a symbol so loaded that it’s illegal in some parts of the world. The Sun published footage of the late Queen performing the horrid gesture alongside her mother and sister Margaret. Allegedly recorded in 1933 in Scotland, the grainy clip sparked widespread debate across the world.

Buckingham Palace expressed deep disappointment over the release, describing it as a breach of privacy. In the black-and-white clip, the Queen is seen playing with a dog on the lush lawns of Balmoral. Her mother then raises her arm to salute, prompting Elizabeth to mimic the gesture, with her uncle Prince Edward also participating. While the tabloid that published the footage called it an important and fascinating story, it refused to disclose how it obtained the tape.

Although the exact events that prompted the same remain unknown, the video was taken during Hitler's rise to power as Führer of Germany. An insider at the Palace defended the monarch despite the backlash. The 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 of how it would evolve. To imply anything else is misleading and dishonest."

Reports at the time suggested that the footage might have unintentionally been provided by Buckingham Palace to filmmakers working on the Royal Childhood exhibition. Royal expert Ingrid Seward noted a few years ago that when the Queen was approaching her milestone as Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, even the most distant revelations about her life held immense public interest, as reported by The Guardian. Seward opined that archival images and footage like these only enrich our understanding of the Queen’s life and history, and hence expressed a desire to see more of such glimpses from the past.

Meanwhile, Edward's political leanings have long been a source of curiosity and mistrust, partly due to his interactions with Hitler. For instance, in 1937, the Duke set off on a tour of Germany, when the Nazi regime was at its height. The Queen Mother's reputation, however, has always remained untarnished. However, as reported by the BBC, royal historian, Hugo Vickers, said, "The Queen Mother wouldn't have known much about Hitler at the time because he had only just come to power. She was one of the great figures of World War II, dressing in civilian clothes and doing a fantastic job putting forward a representation of peace. The Queen Mother was no fan of Nazism."