LONDON
The British prime minister said Thursday he will apologize to the queen after personal remarks he made about her reaction to Scotland voting to stay in the United Kingdom were captured by a camera crew.
During a trip to New York on Tuesday, microphones picked up David Cameron telling former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg that Queen Elizabeth II had "purred" at the news.
“The definition of relief is being the prime minister of the United Kingdom and ringing the Queen and saying 'It's alright, it's okay.' That was something,” said Cameron.
But then he added: “She purred down the line... I've never heard someone so happy."
Cameron told media Wednesday he was "very embarrassed by this."
"I’m extremely sorry about it. It was a private conversation, but clearly a private conversation that I shouldn’t have had and won’t have again. My office has already been in touch with the palace to make that clear and I will do so as well.”
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond - whose party lost the campaign for independence 2,001,926 to 1,617,989 - told BBC Scotland Tuesday that despite being prime minister for four years, Cameron still "hasn't learned basic civility on not gossiping about what Her Majesty The Queen thinks."
“That's absolutely pathetic and he should hang his head in shame,” he added.
During the run up to the referendum, Buckingham Palace maintained that the queen believed it was a choice for the Scottish people and that she did not interfere in political matters.
The palace has so far declined comment on the prime minister's words.
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