www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/11095715/Queen-warns-Scots-to-think-very-carefully-about-referendum-vote.html


The monarch breaks her silence on
Scottish independence four days before
voters go to the polls, with her comments
interpreted as support for a No vote.
The Queen has broken her silence about
the potential break-up of the United
Kingdom by warning Scots to think “very
carefully about the future” before casting
their votes in the independence
referendum.
With only four days to go to the polls and
the contest on a knife edge, the monarch
made a hugely significant intervention by
stating she hoped Scots would consider
closely what their “important” votes
would mean.
Buckingham Palace insiders insisted her
remarks were politically neutral but on
Sunday night they were being viewed as
the clearest sign yet she hopes for a No
vote on Thursday. Henry Bellingham, a
Tory MP, said Royal observers would be
“in no doubt about her views.”
The Queen's comments were made
after she broke her usual protocol and
spoke with well-wishers outside the
church she attends near Balmoral Castle.
In an extremely rare move, police invited
press to observe the exchanges after she
and other members of the Royal Family
left a service that had included a prayer
asking God “to save us from false choices”.
Her exhortation to “think carefully” came
after Prince Harry said on Saturday that
“only the British could have pulled off” the
Invictus Games for injured service
personnel and he would love to keep the
event in the UK, including hosting it in
Glasgow.
Buckingham Palace has previously
rejected calls from Labour and Tory
MPs for the Queen to say something ,
insisting she would not intervene, as she
did in 1977 when Scotland and Wales were
voting on devolved national assemblies.
She used one of her Silver Jubilee
speeches to deliver a clear warning against
breaking up the realm, saying: "I cannot
forget that I was crowned Queen of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and of
Northern Ireland.”
However, Alex Salmond appeared to
suggest last week she supported Scottish
independence by stating she would be
“proud” to be “Queen of Scots”.
The Queen is currently on her annual
holiday at Balmoral, in Aberdeenshire,
where she is expected to remain for
another three weeks.
She and other members of the Royal
Family attend around 20 Sunday services
per year at Crathie Kirk, a small Church of
Scotland parish church, and visitors often
gather outside to see them come and go.
Although she usually walks between her
car and the church without speaking to
bystanders, she decided to do so after she
left the church on the final Sunday before
the referendum.
Unusually, a police sergeant invited
members of the press waiting 200 yards
away to come up to the church to see the
royal party depart, enabling them to hear
her exchanges.
She was photographed in conversation
with a small group of three four Scots, and
a similar number of English visitors. It is
understood a well-wisher joked they were
not going to mention the referendum, in
response to which she remarked: “You
have an important vote on Thursday.”
The Queen, who was dressed in green with
a black handbag, is then reported to have
said: “Well, I hope people will think very
carefully about the future.”
Asked what the Queen had said to the
group, a woman who asked not to be
named, replied: "She was lovely and said
she hoped everybody would think very
carefully about the referendum this
week".
The Rev Ken MacKenzie, the minister at
Crathie, said he did not hear what the
Queen had said, but confirmed that it was
unusual for her to speak to members of
the public when coming or going from the
kirk.
He added: “The Queen did go on a bit of a
walkabout, which is a really quite unusual
thing for her to do. I don’t know what she
said, but I heard something similar
reported. I think it was a recognition of
the fact that this was an important time
for the nation.”
Donald Stewart, a photographer who
covers royal visits to the kirk, said the last
time he could remember being invited to
photograph the Royal Family leaving the
church was in 2006 on the first
anniversary of the wedding of the Duke
and Duchess of Cornwall.
The Queen was at church with the Duke of
Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of
Cornwall, who are known as the Duke and
Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland, the Duke
of York and the Duke of Cambridge, who
is known as Earl of Strathearn north of
the Border. The others did not speak to
the public.
They had earlier heard the Rev Prof David
Fergusson, the guest preacher at the kirk,
speak of the need for reconciliation
between the two sides in the debate
whatever the outcome of the vote.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said:
“We would never comment on a private
interchange." An insider added the
comment was “completely spontaneous”
and in response to a remark from the
crowd.
"Clearly the Queen being the most
experienced of the lot of us knows where
the line is drawn and in some ways it
reinforces her view that it is for the
Scottish people to decide,” the insider
said.
But Mr Bellingham, was a Coalition
Foreign minister from 2010 to 2012, said:
“Anyone who has been a follower of the
queen has said over the years should be in
no doubt about her views, her incredible
support for the Union.”
Simon Danczuk, a Labour MP, said: “She
means that the people of Scotland should
stay with England and the rest of the
United Kingdom. I am pleased that she
has made a contribution to the
discussion.”
But a spokesman for the pro-separation
Yes Scotland campaign said: “Her Majesty
is echoing the message from Yes Scotland
to all voters – to think very carefully
about this one opportunity that Scotland
will have on Thursday to choose our
future.
“Of course, Buckingham Palace has been
at pains to stress that the Queen has no
position on the independence
referendum.” The pro-UK Better Together
campaign declined to comment.
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