It is the most important, the most inviolable rule of Britain's modern monarchy: The queen shall not muck about in politics. Her Majesty doesn't take sides. Forget all the royal gossip between squabbling duchesses. On matters of state, Her Royal Highness stays impartial. But now it appears that Queen Elizabeth II may have gotten her brushed white cotton gloves a little dirty?
Former prime minister David Cameron revealed Thursday that he, ahem, suggested to the queen's courtiers that she could and should try to very, very subtly influence the outcome of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. With a wink or word — or even an arched eyebrow. And this, according to Cameron, the queen did.
The date is September 2014. Cameron and his wife are enjoying themselves at the queen's beloved Balmoral estate in the Scottish Highlands, when a new poll rocks his world: The Scottish independence vote is surging. The survey hit him "like a blow to the solar plexus," creating "a mounting sense of panic," Cameron recalled — panic at the thought he would be the prime minister to preside over the crack up the United Kingdom.
