Queen Elizabeth will not enter the debate on next week's Scottish independence referendum, Buckingham Palace has said, as polls showed the campaign on a knife edge.
The clarification came after reports in the British media that the queen was concerned about a possible break-up of the United Kingdom, and that Prime Minister David Cameron was under pressure to ask the monarch to intervene.
"The sovereign's constitutional impartiality is an established principle of our democracy and one which the queen has demonstrated throughout her reign. As such the monarch is above politics and those in political office have a duty to ensure this remains the case," a spokesman for Buckingham Palace said.
"Any suggestion that the queen would wish to influence the outcome of the current referendum campaign is categorically wrong. Her Majesty is simply of the view this is a matter for the people of Scotland."
Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, the leader of the pro-independence Yes Scotland campaign, said on Tuesday that he had met the queen at her Scottish home Balmoral Castle two weeks ago.
"I think Her Majesty the Queen, who has seen so many events in the course of her long reign, will be proud to be Queen of Scots, and indeed we would be proud to have her as monarch of this land," Salmond said.
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