Edward VII was not amused in 1908. He was “much annoyed on the promenade at Marienbad yesterday,” (Marienbad being in what’s now the Czech Republic) “when he discovered that cinematograph pictures of his early walk had been taken by the director of a Berlin cinematograph company.”
I wonder if this is the first time the Royal Family were “papped”?
“The man in question had succeeded in securing an excellent set of pictures before the King noticed his operations, but on the discovery being made, his Majesty took prompt measures….the King keenly resented such an intrusion on the privacy of his summer holiday.”
There’s a slightly sinister undertone as the cinematographer at first refuses to hand over the film to the police, but the King’s equerry, General Sir Stanley Clarke takes control of the situation. He visited the culprit’s hotel, and “what happened between the King’s equerry and the cinematograph operator is unknown, but General Sir Stanley Clarke finally left the hotel with all the cinematograph negatives in his possession, the operator having consented to surrender them to the King.”