Nazi salute film angers Queen Elizabeth

The film only lasts 17 seconds but it has started a big row and reportedly made Queen Elizabeth very angry.

Black and white footage from 1933 shows the queen, aged about seven, and her mother giving what appears to be the straight-arm Nazi salute. The queen’s uncle, Prince Edward, later and briefly King Edward VIII, appears to be instructing the pair.

The film was published by the tabloid Sun newspaper, arguing that it was “important and interesting”.

The little drama, on the lawns of the royal house at Balmoral in Scotland, was filmed when Adolf Hitler was rising to prominence in Germany.

Many of my generation will wonder what the fuss is all about. As schoolboys during World War Two, we would goose-step across the playground, with a finger under our noses in imitation of Hitler’s silly moustache, while giving the Nazi salute with our right arm and chanting “We won the war!”

But what gives this film an edge is that prominent members of the upper classes were known to be sympathetic towards Hitler’s fascist ideals. After his abdication from the throne, Edward and his American wife, Wallis Simpson, met Hitler in Munich in 1937, just two years before war broke out.

A spokesman for the Sun said, “It is important and interesting the extent to which the British aristocracy, notably Edward VIII, in the 1930s were sympathetic towards fascism. We are not suggesting anything improper on behalf of the Queen and the Queen Mother.”

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said it was “disappointing that a film made eight decades ago has been obtained and exploited. This is a family playing and momentarily referencing a gesture many would have seen from contemporary newsreels.”

The Queen, now 89, was said to be “livid.”

The newspaper refused to say how it got the film and the Palace said an inquiry would be instituted.

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I have a friend who has a two-bedroom council flat. He has a low income and is entitled to housing benefit.

His problem is the government recently brought in a bedroom tax to address the housing shortage which gives the local council power to reduce a person’s housing benefit if he has an unoccupied bedroom.

My friend happened to mention this to a small businessman who employs him from time to time for odd jobs.

“No problem,” the boss said. He brought a roll of carpet and put two pictures of holy men on the bedroom walls. “You haven’t got a spare bedroom any more,” he said. “You’ve got a prayer room!”

My mate is not religious but he might just be offering up the occasional prayer of thanks — if only for the ingenuity of humankind.

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They’re back! Those women with typewriters and their wonderful church bulletins:

Home-made suppers on Sunday. Prayer and medication will follow.

Miss Mason sang, “I will not pass this way again,” to the delight of the congregation.

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

Irving and Jessie were married last week. So ends a friendship that began in their schooldays.

The Low Self-Esteem Support Group will meet on Thursday. Please use the back door.

Weight Watchers will meet on Friday. Please use the large double door.

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A highway patrolman spots a car chugging along at 22 mph and pulls it over, since very-slow drivers are just as dangerous as speedsters. There are five old women in the car, all rigid and white as ghosts.

The old woman driving asks, “What’s the problem, officer? I was doing the exact speed on the sign — 22 mph.” The officer explained that the 22 on the sign was the highway number not the speed limit.

Before he turns away, the cop says, “Is everyone OK? These women seem awfully shaken up.”

“They’ll be all right in a minute,” the old woman replies. “We just got off Highway 189.”

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Two Catholic boys, Timothy Murphy and Antonio Secola, were born on the same day, Timothy in Ireland and Antonio in Italy.

Their lives paralleled each other in amazing ways, both of them clever, successful and holy. Entering the priesthood, they rose swiftly through the ranks of bishop, archbishop and cardinal and the Church knew that when the pope died one of them would be the next pope.

It was widely agreed that Antonio was maybe just a cut above Timothy but when the pope did die and the white smoke rose from the Vatican chimney, it was Timothy Murphy who had been elected.

Seeking consolation and an explanation from the cardinals, Antonio was told quietly, “We knew you were the best but we just could not accept the leader of the Roman Catholic Church being called Pope Secola.”

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