Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National Party, is ready to suggest that the Queen should be known as Elizabeth, Queen of Scots, if Scotland gains independence.

Mr Salmond will say, in a television interview to be broadcast tomorrow, that if he headed the government of an independent Scotland he would be prepared to have talks with the Queen over her title.

He also reiterated the long-standing SNP policy that the Queen would remain as the head of state in Scotland as long as the people wished and that that would change only if the Scots voted for this in a referendum.

He pointed out that the Queen was the monarch of other Commonwealth countries such as Canada and Australia and added that Scotland and England had had a joint monarch since 1603, 104 years before the Act of Union in 1707.

When questioned on what the Queen’s title would be, Mr Salmond said: “Well, I’d have to discuss things with Her Majesty about such things, but I would imagine it would be Elizabeth, Queen of Scots. I think the real thing is to get an independent Scotland but, of course, the Queen can continue as head of state.”

He argued that retaining the monarch would “emphasise the social union” between the two countries.

Many Nationalists believe that the present Queen should not be known as Elizabeth II in Scotland because the previous Queen Elizabeth was Queen of England alone.In the early 1950s, shortly before the Queen ascended to the throne, the issue led to bomb attacks on Scottish postboxes that bore the legend EIIR.

There was also resentment when the Queen appeared in Scotland shortly after her Coronation to receive the Honours of Scotland — the Scottish crown, sceptre and sword — wearing not her sovereign robes but a coat and carrying a handbag. The faux pas was blamed on the Queen’s closest advisers at Buckingham Palace.

When asked about Mr Salmond’s suggestion, the Palace said that it was “not appropriate to comment”.

Although there are republican elements within the SNP, the leadership knows that any pledge to remove the Queen as head of state of an independent Scotland would be deeply unpopular with Scottish voters. The party says that if it wins control of the Scottish Parliament in May it will begin preparations to hold a referendum on independence by 2011.

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