We shall probably never know what was said over the Balmoral Castle dinner table by the Queen and Alex Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister, this week. Of all this nation’s great secrets, none are more sacred than what passes between the Head of State and the senior politicians who govern in her name.
There is little doubt that Mr Salmond has struck up an extremely amicable working relationship with Her Majesty, which includes regular visits to the royal residence on Deeside. In fact, while David and Samantha Cameron had a rare overnight stay at Balmoral three weeks ago, Mr Salmond and his wife Moira have probably notched up five or six “dinner, bed and breakfasts” at the castle. He also sees her regularly when she visits her Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
Although he is hell-bent on holding a referendum within the next three years to break up Elizabeth II’s United Kingdom (she’s only Elizabeth I in Scotland, by the way), he has reassured the House of Windsor that Her Majesty would remain Queen of Scots if his separatist plans come to fruition.
He has abandoned his plans for a referendum on the future of the monarchy north of the Border and said that, while he wants to repeal the 1707 Treaty of Union between Scotland and England, he is determined to honour the 1606 Union of the Crowns, which saw James VI of Scotland become James I of England.
Whether this concession made any difference to the Queen’s attitude towards the leader of the Scottish National Party we shall never know, given her steely determination to stay out of political controversy. » | Alan Cochrane | Thursday, September 22, 2011
