British Prime Minister David Cameron has been caught on camera saying the Queen "purred down the line" when he called to tell her Scotland had voted "no" to independence.
Mr Cameron made the comments to former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg during a visit to Bloomberg’s offices in New York.
The pair where being filmed walking the halls, apparently unaware their conversation was being picked up by a Sky News camera.
"I think the definition of relief is being prime minister of the United Kingdom and ringing up Her Majesty the Queen and saying 'your Majesty it’s all right, your kingdom is still united. That's relief," Mr Cameron can be heard saying.
"She purred down the line. I've never heard someone so happy."
Mr Cameron revealed his own nerves about the campaign, saying: "It should never have been that close."
"I've said I want to find these polling companies and I want to sue them for my stomach ulcers because of what they put me through, you know. It was very nervous," he quipped.
Mr Cameron has faced criticism for breaching protocol by relaying the conversation.
First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond, who led the independence campaign, told the BBC Mr Cameron should "hang his head in shame."
"David Cameron has been prime minister for four years and he hasn't learned basic civility on not gossiping about what Her Majesty The Queen thinks, or doesn't think, to Michael Bloomberg, or anyone else for that matter," he said.
"It's utterly pathetic."
The Queen did not offer an opinion during the referendum, saying only that she hoped Scots would "think carefully" about the future.
Neither Buckingham Palace nor Downing Street have commented on Cameron's latest gaffe but there have been reports that David Cameron intends to apologise.
Meanwhile, social media users have been make the most out of the incident, with hashtags #purringqueen and #purrgate quickly flooding Twitter.
Take a look at the social media reaction below:
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