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| Mohamed Al Fayed not linked to Queen's Nazi salute film, says confidant | Mohamed Al Fayed not linked to Queen's Nazi salute film, says confidant |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A 17-second film showing the Queen performing a Nazi salute in 1933 was not among the royal memorabilia sold at auction by Mohamed Al Fayed, a spokesman for the former Harrods owner has said. | A 17-second film showing the Queen performing a Nazi salute in 1933 was not among the royal memorabilia sold at auction by Mohamed Al Fayed, a spokesman for the former Harrods owner has said. |
| Michael Cole, Fayed’s long-term confidant, said there was no cine film among the items sold at auction in 1998 – meaning the leak almost certainly came from the Queen’s private archive at Windsor Castle. | Michael Cole, Fayed’s long-term confidant, said there was no cine film among the items sold at auction in 1998 – meaning the leak almost certainly came from the Queen’s private archive at Windsor Castle. |
| Related: Queen's Nazi salute a sign of ignorance shared by many in scary times | |
| Royal aides have been investigating a suggestion that the footage was kept at the Paris villa of the Duchess of Windsor, the American divorcee Wallis Simpson who married the former Edward VIII after his abdication. Fayed bought the contents of the villa after her death in 1986. | Royal aides have been investigating a suggestion that the footage was kept at the Paris villa of the Duchess of Windsor, the American divorcee Wallis Simpson who married the former Edward VIII after his abdication. Fayed bought the contents of the villa after her death in 1986. |
| Cole said it was “outrageous and without foundation” to link Fayed to the Sun’s publication of the home movie, which has triggered a major leak inquiry by Buckingham Palace and prompted calls for the royal family to open its secret archive to the public. | Cole said it was “outrageous and without foundation” to link Fayed to the Sun’s publication of the home movie, which has triggered a major leak inquiry by Buckingham Palace and prompted calls for the royal family to open its secret archive to the public. |
| “I’m sure Mr Al Fayed was concerned that such a thing should have happened and I’m sure he’ll be considering what course of action he should take,” he said. | “I’m sure Mr Al Fayed was concerned that such a thing should have happened and I’m sure he’ll be considering what course of action he should take,” he said. |
| Buckingham Palace said on Monday that it was “continuing to pursue different lines of inquiry about the potential source” of the leak. | Buckingham Palace said on Monday that it was “continuing to pursue different lines of inquiry about the potential source” of the leak. |
| An inquiry is also under way at the British Film Institute into whether the footage was held at its £12m cold-storage facility at Gaydon in Warwickshire, but it now seems almost certain to have come from the Queen’s strictly controlled archive at Windsor Castle. | An inquiry is also under way at the British Film Institute into whether the footage was held at its £12m cold-storage facility at Gaydon in Warwickshire, but it now seems almost certain to have come from the Queen’s strictly controlled archive at Windsor Castle. |
| Related: Queen's Nazi salute footage raises pressure on royals to open archives | |
| A royal spokesman declined to comment on reports that the footage, filmed by the Queen’s father, the future King George VI, on the family’s Balmoral estate in Scotland, may have been passed to the Sun by documentary makers. Broadcasters including the BBC and Channel 4 are known to have been compiling documentaries about the Queen ahead of her becoming the longest reigning monarch in September and turning 90 next year. | A royal spokesman declined to comment on reports that the footage, filmed by the Queen’s father, the future King George VI, on the family’s Balmoral estate in Scotland, may have been passed to the Sun by documentary makers. Broadcasters including the BBC and Channel 4 are known to have been compiling documentaries about the Queen ahead of her becoming the longest reigning monarch in September and turning 90 next year. |
| The contents of the duchess’s Bois de Boulogne home were auctioned at Sotheby’s in February 1998 in what was described at the time as the “greatest treasure house of royal possessions ever offered at auction”. | The contents of the duchess’s Bois de Boulogne home were auctioned at Sotheby’s in February 1998 in what was described at the time as the “greatest treasure house of royal possessions ever offered at auction”. |
| Cole said the collection included no cine film, ruling out the possibility that the film featuring the salute was part of it. He said Fayed had two archivists catalogue and restore the many thousands of pieces of royal memorabilia, most of which were family photographs, over the course of 10 years. | Cole said the collection included no cine film, ruling out the possibility that the film featuring the salute was part of it. He said Fayed had two archivists catalogue and restore the many thousands of pieces of royal memorabilia, most of which were family photographs, over the course of 10 years. |
| “The big work was in researching where the pictures were taken, who was in them, the circumstances and the date,” Cole said. “What there was not, in the possessions of the duke and the duchess, was any cine film.” | “The big work was in researching where the pictures were taken, who was in them, the circumstances and the date,” Cole said. “What there was not, in the possessions of the duke and the duchess, was any cine film.” |
| A duplicate copy of the photographs – comprising 60 quarto volumes – was given by Fayed to the royal archives at Windsor Castle and the National Sound Archive in London. | A duplicate copy of the photographs – comprising 60 quarto volumes – was given by Fayed to the royal archives at Windsor Castle and the National Sound Archive in London. |
| Cole – a former BBC journalist who was Fayed’s spokesman at the time of the deaths of the Harrods owner’s son Dodi and Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997 – said the film appeared to have been taken by the Queen’s father. | Cole – a former BBC journalist who was Fayed’s spokesman at the time of the deaths of the Harrods owner’s son Dodi and Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997 – said the film appeared to have been taken by the Queen’s father. |
| Related: Look again – the young Queen’s Nazi salute tells another story | Kathryn Hughes | |
| The leak has prompted a number of leading historians and MPs to call for the Queen’s private archive to be opened to the public, saying it would add to the country’s knowledge of the Queen and provide important historical context to the links between some leading royals and the Third Reich before the second world war. | The leak has prompted a number of leading historians and MPs to call for the Queen’s private archive to be opened to the public, saying it would add to the country’s knowledge of the Queen and provide important historical context to the links between some leading royals and the Third Reich before the second world war. |
| Mark Almond, professor of modern history at Oxford University, said: “It seems to me that the royal archives – certainly from the prewar era and really from around 30 years ago – should be opened because the royal family is a public and political institution.” | Mark Almond, professor of modern history at Oxford University, said: “It seems to me that the royal archives – certainly from the prewar era and really from around 30 years ago – should be opened because the royal family is a public and political institution.” |
| He said a “blanket block on archival access to her lifetime cuts out a large part of the history of the 20th century”. | He said a “blanket block on archival access to her lifetime cuts out a large part of the history of the 20th century”. |
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