Queen is 'livid' over leaked Nazi salute footage as Buckingham Palace launches hunt for the source and considers legal action

• An inquiry has been launched into how The Sun obtained the 1933 footage 
• Buckingham Palace slammed The Sun's publication of the film yesterday 
• It has announced that the police will be involved if 'any criminality' arises
• Queen 'saddened as the clip also shows the Queen Mother, and has demanded the source of the leak be found' 

By IMOGEN CALDERWOOD and LUCY CROSSLEY FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 20:58, 18 July 2015 | UPDATED: 08:57, 19 July 2015

http://www.dailyfail.co.uk/news/article-3166631/Buckingham-palace-l...

The Queen is said to be 'livid' over leaked footage of her being taught how to perform a Nazi salute in 1933 as Buckingham Palace launches an investigation into how the clip ended up in the hands of The Sun. 

The palace is considering legal action and has begun an inquiry into whether there was ‘any criminality’ involved in obtaining the 17-second film clip, which belongs in the family’s highly-restricted private archive.

And the Queen herself was said to have been deeply saddened that the clip had emerged, especially because it also showed the Queen Mother joining in, and has demanded that the source of the leak be found.

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Leaked: The 1933 footage shows the then seven-year-old Queen being taught the Nazi salute at Balmoral

Family film: Edward VIII, long accused of being a Nazi sympathiser, teaches the salute to the two young sisters

'There is mischief-making going on here and it is hurtful,' a senior Royal insider told the Sunday Mirror. 'Her Majesty is livid at the distortion of truth and betrayal.

'She is furious about the damaging publicity for her late mother more than anything, given how she was a rock for the King and the people during the War.'

The publication of the grainy black-and-white footage, also caused outrage across the nation, while the palace said it was ‘disappointed’ that the film had been ‘obtained and exploited in this manner’. 

The film clip shows the future Edward VIII, long accused of being a Nazi sympathiser, teaching the then seven-year-old Queen and her then three-year-old sister Princess Margaret how to perform the Nazi salute.

The Queen Mother, who died in 2002 aged 101, also salutes in the film, which begins with the family playing with one of the then two royal corgis in the grounds of Birkhall, on the Balmoral estate.

It is now believed that the footage was recorded by the Queen’s father, the future King George VI. 

The palace is prepared to bring police into the investigation if any evidence emerges that the footage was stolen from the Royal Archives, which are based at Windsor Castle.

Another Royal source told the Sunday Mirror that the Queen was particularly keen to find out why the footage had been released. 

'She wants to know who leaked this film, how they got it, but most of all why they did it,' they said.

Other possibilities are being investigated by the inquiry, including whether the footage may have been handed over inadvertently as part of a batch of Royal home movies released to film-makers. 

The Queen Mother also salutes in the film, which begins with the family playing with one of the then two royal corgis in the garden

The palace is prepared to bring police into the investigation if any evidence emerges that the footage was stolen from the Royal Archives, which are based at Windsor Castle

The palace is also investigating breaches of copyright in the publication of the footage.

The Sun has refused to reveal its source, but announced that ‘the original film remains under lock and key’.

It added that ‘several copies of the clip were made several years ago’, and that one copy had been handed to the newspaper.  

A palace spokesman 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.

'The Queen is around six years of age at the time and entirely innocent of attaching any meaning to these gestures.

'The Queen and her family's service and dedication to the welfare of this nation during the war, and the 63 years The Queen has spent building relations between nations and peoples speaks for itself.'  

The publication of the 17-second film has outraged thousands across the nation who believe that the Queen cannot be held responsible for her actions as a girl playing with her family.

Scores of Twitter users vented their anger this morning, saying The Sun had 'sunk to a new low' and calling for the newspaper's owner Rupert Murdoch to be banned from the UK.  

CONT.