David Cameron ‘Embarrassed’ For Saying Queen Elizabeth ‘Purred’ At Scotland Vote Results

British Prime Minister David Cameron said he is both “embarrassed” and “sorry” for revealing Queen Elizabeth’s alleged approval of last week’s Scotland independence referendum results. Cameron, who told former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg that the queen “purred” after learning Scotland would remain tied to the U.K., said he plans to officially apologize to the monarch.

“Look, I’m very embarrassed by this,” Cameron, 47, told reporters in New York Wednesday, according to the New York Times. “I’m extremely sorry about it. It was a private conversation, but a private conversation I shouldn’t have had and won’t have again.”

The British monarchy's official website states that conversations between the queen and the prime minister are to "remain strictly confidential." The prime minister's office says Cameron contacted Buckingham Palace after the incident and will privately apologize to the queen, BBC News is reporting.

Just days after the referendum vote rejecting Scotland’s independence bid, Cameron was recorded telling Bloomberg the queen’s alleged reaction to the results. “The definition of relief is being prime minister of the United Kingdom and ringing the queen and saying, ‘It’s all right. It’s OK,'" said Cameron in a video obtained by the Guardian. "That was something. She purred down the line.”

In the video, Cameron also slammed the referendum’s failed Yes campaign. “But it should never have been that close,” Cameron said of the vote, which had 55 percent of pollers voting to continue Scotland’s 307-year tie with the U.K. “I’ve said I want to find these polling companies and I want to sue them for my stomach ulcers. It was very nervous moments.”

Cameron’s comments followed the palace’s statement that the queen would not reveal her stance on the vote in order to keep political neutrality.