Former Prime Minister David Cameron has revealed he had a subtle discussion with the Queen about the prospect of a Scottish referendum on independence.
In an interview with the BBC , Mr Cameron explained that he sought help from royal officials days before the vote, in September 2014, amid "mounting panic" he may lose.
What was discussed with the monarch was not "anything that would be in any way improper... but just a raising of the eyebrow even... a quarter of an inch," Mr Cameron said.
The Queen later urged people to "think very carefully about the future."
The comments made by the Queen to a well-wisher outside a Balmoral church at the time became a key talking point in the Scottish referendum campaign.
Scotland went on to reject independence by a margin of 55.3 per cent to 44.7 per cent on a turnout of 84.6 per cent, a result which made Mr Cameron "blissfully happy."
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Mr Cameron told the BBC documentary that the Queen's words on the issue were "very limited but helped to put a slightly different perception on things."
The Cameron Years two-part documentary starting tonight, also examines the fallout from the 2016 Brexit referendum, which led to the PM's resignation.
He said he "broods" every day about the consequences of the referendum and added that Prime Minister Boris Johnson "agonised" over his position and "did not really want to leave" the EU.
The first episode of The Cameron Years will be broadcast on BBC One tonight (Thursday) at 9pm.
