The Queen decided to make public her thoughts on the impending referendum on Scottish independence after a period of "reflection".
The Daily Telegraph newspaper claims she told aides on Saturday (13.09.14) that she intended to make her thoughts clear to the public the next day, having spent some time considering her position on the issue.
A source explained: "These things don't happen entirely spontaneously and obviously the Queen would give careful consideration to anything like this.
"It wasn't something she did on the spur of the moment - there was a little bit more reflection on her part before she decided to do something of such significance, but equally she was at great pains to make sure that anything that was said was on the right side of the fence in terms of what is constitutionally correct."
The Queen made her thoughts known to members of the public, appearing to suggest that she backs the United Kingdom - but the source says she did so knowing that it was likely to be picked up by national and international media.
The Queen said she hopes "people will think very carefully about the future" ahead of the independence referendum.
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