The Queen takes the view that the fate of Scotland - to stay in the union or leave - is in the hands of its people, a Buckingham Palace spokesman has said.
After reports over the weekend claimed the Queen was growing increasingly concerned about Scotland breaking away, a Palace spokesman stressed any suggestion the head of state wanted to influence the referendum vote was "categorically wrong".
There have also been calls from politicians for the Queen to make her views known in a bid to counter growing support for the independence campaign.
First Minister Alex Salmond has said he believes the Queen would be "proud'' to be "Queen of Scots''.
But the spokesman indicated that those in elected positions had a duty to help the monarch retain his or her position of political impartiality.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "The sovereign's constitutional impartiality is an established principle of our democracy and one which the Queen has demonstrated throughout her reign.
"As such the monarch is above politics and those in political office have a duty to ensure this remains the case.
"Any suggestion that the Queen would wish to influence the outcome of the current referendum campaign is categorically wrong. Her Majesty is simply of the view this is a matter for the people of Scotland."
The spokesman's comments clarify the Queen's position for those who would try and draw her into the referendum debate.
The head of state is ultimately a unifying figure for the nation and if a sovereign was seen to favour one political party over another, or support a campaign, it would alienate a proportion of the population.
But there is a precedent for the Queen commenting on a major issue that has constitutional implications.
During her Jubilee year of 1977 there were growing calls for power to be devolved to Scotland and Wales.
The Queen made her views quite clear in a speech to both houses of Parliament when she said she understood the aspirations of Scotland and Wales: ''But I cannot forget that I was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
''Perhaps this Jubilee is a time to remind ourselves of the benefits which union has conferred, at home and in our international dealings, on the inhabitants of all parts of this United Kingdom.''
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article