The Royal Family is coming under pressure from SNP politicians over a claim that Prince William urged Queen Elizabeth II to intervene ahead of the Scottish independence referendum in 2014.
The late Queen said she hoped the people of Scotland would “think very carefully about the future” just days before the referendum.
A new royal book claims that Queen Elizabeth II was urged to make an intervention when some polls showed that the Yes vote was ahead.
Sources at the time said that the late Queen’s comments were spontaneous.
The late Queen said she hoped the people of Scotland would “think very carefully about the future” just days before the referendum.
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However, David Cameron, who was Prime Minister at the time, later confirmed that he lobbied the monarch to intervene.
Valentine Low in his new book, Power and the Palace, wrote: “The pressure (on the Queen to intervene) did not just come from Cameron, however.
“Prince William also wanted the Queen to say something, and urged the Queen’s private secretary, Sir Christopher Geidt, to get her to intervene.
“Geidt and the cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, had... already been talking about the constitutional propriety of an intervention by the monarch, and between them they came up with the formula that the Queen would use when she stopped to talk to members of the public outside Crathie Kirk that Sunday.”
David Cameron, who was Prime Minister at the time, confirmed that he lobbied the monarch to intervene.
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The No campaign received 55 per cent of the vote in the referendum, meaning Scotland remained part of the United Kingdom.
SNP politicians have now called for transparency from the Royal Family regarding any bid to influence the outcome of the referendum.
Angus Robertson, Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, stated that the Royal Family should not “involve itself in day-to-day political questions”.
Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney, stated he was unsure about the “substance and veracity” of the claim regarding Prince William’s involvement but that it was “a matter for the people of Scotland to decide their constitutional future”.
Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney, stated he was unsure about the “substance and veracity” of the claim regarding Prince William’s involvement but that it was “a matter for the people of Scotland to decide their constitutional future”.
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Tommy Sheppard, a former SNP MP, called for an investigation following the claims made in Low’s book.
Sheppard said regarding the claim: “If true, it runs a coach and horses through the claim that the Royal Family are not involved in politics and further undermines their standing.”
He added: “The public have a right to know if this happened or not. It is time for William to tell what happened.”