Palace aides concerned the monarch will face
a constitutional crisis after poll
Queen may appoint an Australian-style
'governor general' to rule in her name
Experts fear independence could throw up
divided loyalties for the Queen
In
1977 the Queen said: 'I was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom'
The growing prospect of Scotland voting to leave the United Kingdom has sparked a ‘great deal of concern’ in Buckingham Palace, sources close to the Queen have revealed.
Senior palace aides are increasingly
concerned that the Queen will be thrown into the centre of a constitutional
crisis in the event of a ‘Yes’ vote on September 18.
Experts have suggested she may be
forced to appoint an Australian-style ‘governor general’ to rule in her name.
Prime Minister David Cameron is in
Balmoral, Aberdeenshire, with the Queen today and is expected to hold talks
over the crisis. Mr Cameron has travelled alone without his wife Samantha.
The Queen has not intervened in the debate on independence, but has previously publicly praised the union.
In a speech she gave to MPs on her
Silver Jubilee in 1977 she said: ‘I number kings and queens of England and of
Scotland, and princes of Wales among my ancestors and so I can readily
understand these aspirations.
‘But I cannot forget that I was crowned
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
‘Perhaps this jubilee is a time to
remind ourselves of the benefits which union has conferred, at home and in our
international dealings, on the inhabitants of all parts of this United
Kingdom.’
Constitutional experts fear
independence could throw up divided loyalties for the Queen if there was a
clash between Scotland and the rump-UK in the future.
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