LAWYERS for the Queen lobbied the Scottish Government to exempt her private land from legislation aimed at cutting carbon emissions, a Guardian investigation has revealed.

The monarch now does not need to follow the rules set out in the Heat Networks Bill, which requires people to facilitate the construction of pipelines for heating using renewable energy, rather than fossil fuels.

Writing to the Queen’s senior aide on January 12, the First Minister’s principal private secretary John Somers said that under the legislation, companies and public authorities could force landowners to sell their land in order for green pipelines to be installed. The Queen is one of Scotland's major landowners.

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Then on February 3, the energy minister Paul Wheelhouse's officials noted that the Queen’s lawyers had problems with the bill. Two weeks later, the Scottish Government was informed that the Queen had provided consent for the bill to be passed.

But during a Holyrood debate five days after that, the energy minister set out an amendment applying solely to land owned by the Queen in Scotland. It meant that firms and public authorities could not make a compulsory purchase of her land for the purpose of building a renewable energy pipeline.

At the time, former independent MSP Andy Wightman warned it was wrong to single out the Queen. Wheelhouse did not say the Queen’s lawyers had been lobbying, and told MSPs the amendment was “required to ensure the smooth passage of the bill”.

Following the Guardian investigation, Wheelhouse said exemptions for the Queen’s interests “are sometimes required as a necessary step”.

Willie Rennie, former Scottish LibDem leader, expressed his concerns over the news. “Others who lobby for changes have to declare it,” he told the newspaper. “That should be true for everyone.

“The Queen rightly does not express her views publicly and does so privately with the Prime Minister and First Minister. However, this is different. It’s about the interests of the head of state’s assets and direct interests. Any of these communications should be notified publicly and openly so we can judge for ourselves.”

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A spokesperson for the Scottish Government commented: “Scottish Government policy is that the Crown should be subject to regulatory requirements on the same basis as everyone else, unless there is a legitimate reason for an exemption or variation. However, Crown consent is required by law if a bill impacts the private property or interests of the sovereign – and that is what happened in this case.”

Earlier this year, The National revealed that the Queen had her tax bill on her three Scottish shooting estates slashed by thousands of pounds following a successful appeal.

The rateable value for deer stalking at her Balmoral Castle property is now lower than that of many local businesses in the area.