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When did Lord Altrincham get punched?
6 August 1957, London, and a dramatic moment in the series The Crown sees one Lord Altrincham, John Grigg, take the radical step of publicly criticising the monarchy and HM the Queen herself, ultimately providing the spark for the modernisation of the British monarchy and the House of Windsor.
Who photographed the Lord Altrincham punch?
It is a true story, documented and with historic photographic images for license covering the main events, including one of the actual punch taken by brilliant news photographer Stuart Heydinger when he was a staffer for, William Randolph Hearst’s, International News Photos (INP), now owned by TopFoto with all rights. The drama began with the famous televised criticism of the Queen when Robin Day interviewed Altrincham for the programme “Impact”. Altrincham, who himself was no republican, was then punched in the face and called a “traitor” as he left Television house by Philip Burbidge, a 63 year old retired army sergeant and member of an extreme-right imperialist group wanting to keep the British Empire. Burbidge wasn’t the only loyal subject spoiling for a fight: Signor Renato Marmiroli, formerly of the Italian Artillery, tried to challenge Lord Altrincham to a duel.
The start of a commercial television channel, with an Independent Television News, provided the platform for Altrincham to amplify his message, which he had been promoting for quite some time.
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