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Queen’s Ireland Visit Seen as Significant Advance

By Alan Cowell

• May 20, 2011

LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II wrapped up her groundbreaking four-day visit to the Irish Republic on Friday, a trip that ranked among the most politically freighted of her almost 60 years on the throne.

While the queen has no formal political power, her visit — the first by a British monarch — offered powerful symbols of reconciliation and drew broad acclaim among Irish politicians. Her status both as head of state and as the most respected member of Britain’s royal family was taken by her hosts as imparting a particular gravity to her words, sealing a closeness that has grown in recent years. Virtually every word and gesture — down to wearing Ireland’s distinctive emerald green when she arrived — seemed to have been weighed in advance to avoid any impression of royal hauteur.

“Together we have much to celebrate,” the queen said in a keynote address at a banquet in Dublin on Wednesday night, referring to “the ties between our people, the shared values and the economic, business and cultural links that make us so much more than just neighbors, that make us firm friends and equal partners.”

It was at the official dinner that the queen spoke the words that have been taken as the central message of her trip. “To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past, I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy,” she said. “With the benefit of historical hindsight, we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all.”

The words were accompanied by sights and sounds that went some way toward illustrating the poles of the relationship.

For some Irish people the strains of the British anthem “God Save the Queen” wafting over their capital seemed to offer what might once have seemed an improbable refrain in a land that reviled the British monarchy for centuries. Ireland’s bloody war of independence led to the establishment in 1922 of the Irish Free State on territory that excluded Northern Ireland, which was then riven by deep unrest for decades.

Not everyone was prepared to accept the new order, and republicans staged limited protests. The start of the visit on Tuesday was marred by bomb scares, one of them involving a pipe bomb found in a tote bag aboard a bus heading for Dublin.

But if the sound of the British anthem signaled reconciliation, then the sight of empty streets cordoned off by about 8,000 police officers showed just how much Irish leaders were aware of the passions, bred of centuries, that the queen’s visit could ignite.

Only on the final afternoon of the visit did the police relax the tight security arrangements, allowing thousands of people in the southern city of Cork to throng the streets as the monarch, breaking with her schedule, walked to greet them.

The queen has paid frequent visits to Northern Ireland, and it is there that the contest of republicanism and unionism has played out most graphically in recent years. Whatever the relationship between London and Dublin, the enduring question of Irish reunification — not directly addressed by the queen — still looms over the political life of the north.

In a series of public comments, Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, said normalization between Britain and Ireland would not be complete until the island was reunified.

While Mr. Adams praised the queen’s expression of sympathy as “sincere,” he told BBC radio on Friday that the visit had been “a page in a book — and we need to write the next page and the next page and keep the process moving on.”

In an article in The Guardian on Thursday, Mr. Adams said, “The complete normalization of the relationships within Ireland and between Ireland and Britain can only be fully achieved by ending partition and reuniting our people and the country.”

In various guises, Mr. Adams spent decades at the heart of the republican movement in Northern Ireland and was one of the main figures in the 1998 Good Friday agreement that laid the groundwork for peace between the mainly Catholic republicans, who seek a united Ireland, and the mainly Protestant unionists, who stand for union with Britain.

Queen Elizabeth’s Complicated Relationship with Ireland, Britain’s First Colony 

L ike many of Britain’s former colonies , Ireland has had a complicated relationship with both Britain and its monarchy, one uniquely shaped by a geographical proximity that created intimate but not necessarily friendly ties both economically and culturally.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II raised much discussion about the British monarchy’s relationship with its former colonies . In the Republic of Ireland , which gained its independence in 1921, the response was respectful and somewhat muted, consistent with complex history.

Ireland endured eight centuries of political and military intervention by its neighbor before finally gaining its independence. But Queen Elizabeth (and now King Charles III) remained head of state in the six counties that make up Northern Ireland , which is still part of the U.K.— and a point of friction for 70 years. During the violent period of the late 1960s to late 1990s known as The Troubles, more than 3,700 people lost their lives, including the uncle of the Queen’s husband: Lord Louis Mountbatten , an icon of British imperialism, was killed in 1979 by a Irish Republic Army bomb.

Yet upon the Queen’s death, Irish politicians both North and South and on either side of the political divide issued statements of condolence, tribute and praise, testament to the important role she played in repairing relations between Britain and Ireland.

The first colony

Not only was Ireland Britain’s nearest colony, it was also its first. Conquered by the Normans in 1169, the island remained (apart from a brief decade of independence in the 1640s) a colony for over 700 years. It provided something of a test site for methods of governing, policies and practices, including the promotion of English culture and language, that were later transferred to other parts of the British Empire.

It also proved an early example of resistance. Generations of Irish nationalists viewed the British monarchy and army alike as the enemy. The IRA described the assassination of Mountbatten as a “discriminate act to bring the attention of the English people the continuing occupation of our country.” While the Queen a number of times visited Northern Ireland – where many in the Protestant majority identify as British – when it came to the Republic of Ireland there “effectively wasn’t a relationship after Irish Independence until the mid-1990s,” says Marie Coleman, Professor of Twentieth Century Irish History at Queen’s University in Belfast.

The monarchy was “not popular with a majority of the Irish population,” says Dan Mulhall, former Irish Ambassador to the U.K. and current Irish studies professor at New York University. “There were obviously traumatic events during the 19th century and then in the 20th century.”

The Queen and the peace

In 1993, the Queen invited then-President of Ireland Mary Robinson to Buckingham Palace for tea. It was the first official meeting between the heads of state of Ireland and Britain and marked the start of a slow process of improving relations during the 1990s, after the IRA announced a ceasefire, and its political branch, Sinn Fein, embraced negotiations. In 1995 the Prince of Wales (now King Charles III) visited Dublin.

As the peace process that led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement unfolded, the relationship that Elizabeth II built with the next President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, helped pave the way for the first visit by a British monarch to the Republic of Ireland , in 2011. “There hadn’t been an official visit by the British monarchy in 400 years,” says Mulhall. The visit in 2011 would prove to be “a turning point in relations,” he adds.

“It was a recognition that both the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland treated each other as equal nations which had much in common with each other,” says Coleman.

There was a huge amount of symbolism during the visit, and the Queen clearly grasped its critical role in improving relations between the countries. The first stop was to lay a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin, which is dedicated to the memory of those who died “in the cause of Irish Freedom” – in other words, those who fought for Irish independence against Britain. “Yet she went there and she bowed her head,” says Mulhall, ”recognizing the contribution those people had made to the evolution of modern Ireland.”

Read More : Queen Elizabeth’s Passing Could Push Some Countries to Alter Their Ties to the British Monarchy

And though the Queen’s visit drew protests and critics in the Republic of Ireland, in Northern Ireland, and in the U.K, “she understood the power of images and symbolism and did a number of things which clearly won people over and turned the visit into a great success,” says Mulhall.

At a state banquet in Dublin Castle, Queen Elizabeth began her speech with a greeting in the Irish language—” a uachtaran agus a chairde ” [President and friends]. The speech acknowledged the history and difficulties between the two countries. “Of course, the relationship has not always been straightforward; nor has the record over the centuries been entirely benign,” she said. “It is a sad and regrettable reality that through history our islands have experienced more than their fair share of heartache, turbulence and loss.”

That visit, however, paved the way for better relations and a year later, on a visit to Northern Ireland, there was another even more remarkable mark of progress. At the Lyric Theater in Belfast, the Queen shook hands with Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein, the then Northern Ireland deputy first minister. The handshake lasted just four seconds but was hugely significant given that McGuinness was a former IRA commander and had held a senior role in the paramilitary organization at the time of the assassination of Lord Mountbatten.

“It was obviously significant for that reason,” says Coleman. Though she adds it also was significant “for Irish Republicanism that McGuinness was prepared to shake the hand of a British monarch whose right to rule over any part of Ireland is not accepted by the party of which he was a leading figure at the time.”

A service, not a wake

Upon news of the Queen’s Sept. 8 death , two Irish soldiers lowered the Irish flag to half mast at government buildings in Dublin as a mark of respect.

The Irish flag has been lowered to half mast at Government Buildings this evening to mark the death of HM Queen Elizabeth. Statement from Taoiseach @MichealMartinTD ➡️ https://t.co/luw9aLl0sl pic.twitter.com/kvs7Ki9zwv — MerrionStreet.ie (@merrionstreet) September 8, 2022

But mourning was not the order of the day. Twitter in Ireland was alive with discussion on the role the monarchy had played in Ireland, and its colonial legacy. Many raised the issue of the long painful history of colonization and a video of Irish soccer fans singing “Lizzie is in a box” went viral, the club later issuing a statement condemning the chant.

Her death brought respectful condolences from political figures, including members of Sinn Fein, who commended the role she played in bettering relations between the two countries. “Queen Elizabeth’s Visit was pivotal in laying a firm basis for an authentic and ethical understanding between our countries,” said Irish President Michael D Higgins . “Her moving words and gestures of respect were deeply appreciated and admired by the people of Ireland and set out a new, forward looking relationship between our nations – one of respect, close partnership and sincere friendship.”

Taoiseach [Prime Minister] Micheal Martin said: “The Queen’s passing is indeed the end of an era. Her State Visit to Ireland in 2011 marked a crucial step in the normalization of relations with our nearest neighbor.”

The First Minister of Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein politician Michelle O’Neill acknowledged the Queen’s “significant contribution.” “Throughout the peace process she led by example in building relationships with those of us who are Irish, and who share a different political allegiance and aspirations to herself and her Government,” she said.

It’s with deep regret that I learned of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.   The British people will miss the leadership she gave as monarch.   I would like to offer my sincere sympathies and condolences to her children, and wider family as they come to terms with their grief 1/4 — Michelle O’Neill (@moneillsf) September 8, 2022

Since Brexit, the overall relationship between Ireland and the U.K. have been put under strain, with a number of disputes including a political row over trade arrangements. “The monarchy might be one conduit to try to repair this,” says Mulhall.

Read More : Queen Elizabeth II Has Died. Here’s How Prince Charles Became King

Indeed, in his first speech during a visit to Northern Ireland, the future King Charles promised to “seek the welfare of all inhabitants” of Northern Ireland and vowed to follow “the shining example” of his mother given her role in improving relations and reconciliation.

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Queen Elizabeth remembered in Ireland for historic reconciliation

Expressions of sympathy in Ireland demonstrate how Queen Elizabeth II achieved healing in the fraught history of Ireland and Britain.

Queen Elizabeth II reigned for more than 70 years and for 30 years during that time a vicious conflict was fought in the part of her United Kingdom known as Northern Ireland.

About 3,600 people were killed and more than 30,000 wounded from 1969 until the signing of an agreement in 1998, which largely brought peace between those fighting against British rule in the northern province of Ireland, and those battling to preserve and defend the union with Britain.

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The fighting, euphemistically known as “the Troubles”, was brutal, bitter, and sectarian.

British troops, the Northern Irish security services, Irish Republican Army (IRA) fighters, and pro-British Loyalist armed groups bombed and shot, killed and maimed, as they turned city streets and rural towns into guerrilla-war battlefields.

For generations of Irish nationalists and republicans, the British Crown and its forces were an enemy responsible for the degradation of centuries of colonial rule in Ireland.

Yet, on Thursday, two Irish soldiers lowered Ireland’s tricolour flag to half-staff at a government building in Dublin to mark the queen’s death . Irish embassies around the world also followed suit and lowered the republic’s flag as a mark of respect.

The Irish flag has been lowered to half mast at Government Buildings this evening to mark the death of HM Queen Elizabeth. Statement from Taoiseach @MichealMartinTD ➡️ https://t.co/luw9aLl0sl pic.twitter.com/kvs7Ki9zwv — MerrionStreet.ie (@merrionstreet) September 8, 2022

The flag at the Embassy has been lowered to half staff to mark the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. pic.twitter.com/HDm959iFSL — Embassy of Ireland Cairo (@IRLEmbCairo) September 9, 2022

Ireland’s President Michael D Higgins issued a statement “on behalf of the people of Ireland” expressing heartfelt sympathy.

Former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams – who had headed the party once commonly referred to as the political wing of the IRA – retweeted a message of condolence from the republican party’s current leader.

“To the Royal Family and all who mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth, especially Irish Unionists, I extend sincere sympathy,” Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald wrote in a tweet.

“She lived a long, full life. In her lifetime relationships between our countries were changed and changing. I salute her contribution to this transformation.”

To the Royal Family and all who mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth, especially Irish Unionists, I extend sincere sympathy. She lived a long, full life. In her lifetime relationships between our countries were changed and changing. I salute her contribution to this transformation — Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) September 8, 2022

The expression of sympathy in Ireland from all quarters demonstrates how Queen Elizabeth achieved something remarkable in the fraught history of the two countries.

And it began with a visit.

Symbols and reconciliation

In 2011, Elizabeth became the first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland since the country fought and gained independence from London almost a century earlier.

During her four-day trip, the queen wore green – the symbolism not lost in a country referred to as the “emerald isle”.

She laid a wreath at a monument dedicated to those who had fought and died for Irish independence from Britain.

She stepped onto the pitch at Dublin’s Croke Park stadium, the home of traditional Irish sport and the scene of a mass killing of 14 people by British forces almost 100 years earlier.

Then at a dinner in Dublin Castle, the former nerve centre of British rule in Ireland, the queen spoke some words in the Irish language.

The queen’s use of Gaelic, once banned under British rule, to begin her speech drew an audible gasp of surprise and a spontaneous round of applause from guests in attendance.

Min @EamonRyan described as "pivotal" the moment Queen Elizabeth spoke Irish at the State dinner in Dublin Castle in 2011 pic.twitter.com/zQa0T6yWbK — Morning Ireland (@morningireland) September 9, 2022

The queen’s visit – during which she expressed regret for centuries of conflict between the two countries – was a powerful gesture of reconciliation for Britain’s bloody past in Ireland.

Her description of the two countries as “firm friends and equal partners”, and her many other gestures, had the power to reset relations with Britain for more than one generation in Ireland.

“During those memorable few days eleven years ago, the queen did not shy away from the shadows of the past,” President Higgins wrote in his message of condolence.

“Her moving words and gestures of respect were deeply appreciated and admired by the people of Ireland.”

Healing history

A year after her visit to Ireland, the queen met and shook the hand of former IRA commander and then-Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, the late Martin McGuinness, in Belfast.

That handshake was historic.

The IRA had killed the queen’s cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten – the last viceroy of India – in 1979 when they blew up his fishing boat in Donegal Bay, in the republic’s northwest. Three other relatives of Mountbatten died in the attack.

Thirty years of bloodshed between Irish nationalists, pro-British loyalists, and the British military in British-run Northern Ireland was largely ended by the 1998 peace deal that was brokered by Irish and British leaders.

But it was the queen’s visit 13 years after the signing of the peace agreement that provided a degree of personal, historic healing.

Writing in Britain’s Guardian newspaper shortly after the Queen’s visit, Irish columnist Fintan O’Toole summed up a feeling likely experienced by many Irish people.

“There are, presumably, two rules the Queen has absorbed so deeply that they have become instinctive: don’t take risks; don’t stir emotions,” O’Toole wrote.

“She broke both rules in Ireland last week,” he wrote.

“To the great surprise of those of us who have little time for monarchy, she walked that line with amazing grace. It is not simply that she didn’t put a foot wrong. It is that every step seemed exactly right.”

Queen Elizabeth and Ireland: From hard feelings to a warm handshake

The queen took risks to promote peace in northern ireland, including a meeting with martin mcguinness that confronted hard truths.

Queen Elizabeth II shaking hands with Martin McGuinness during her visit to Northern Ireland in June 2012. Photograph: Paul Faith/WPA Pool/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II visited Northern Ireland many times during her long reign, providing assurance primarily for the unionist population that the link with Britain was secure, but later working to assist and lock in the peace.

And that can’t have been easy. Both she and the late Martin McGuinness had to step outside their own constituencies when they had their first groundbreaking encounters. Yet there was a personal element to that engagement that was problematic for the British monarch.

In Mullaghmore in Co Sligo in 1979 the IRA murdered Lord Louis Mountbatten, her cousin and her husband Philip’s uncle, as well as taking the lives of two teenage boys and an elderly woman. As an IRA leader, McGuinness may have had a role in organising those killings.

That meeting was in the Lyric Theatre on Ridgeway Street in south Belfast in 2012, the year of her diamond jubilee, and reporters gathered outside the theatre wondered would the drama inside be a damp affair of limp handshakes and formalities grimly observed.

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That wasn’t the case, however. The chief executive of Co-operation Ireland, Peter Sheridan, who organised and was central to the event, described the occasion as “very natural and relaxed”.

It was a “significant milestone on the road to reconciliation on this island and between our two islands,” said Sheridan, who said that the queen was deeply conscious of how important it was to rise to such challenges.

It later transpired that the issue of Lord Mountbatten was raised, if rather carefully. McGuinness told RTÉ's Miriam O’Callaghan: “I also head-on addressed this issue with the queen and Prince Philip when I said to them that I recognised that they too had lost a loved one. I did not shy away from the issue because I think these are things that have to be faced up to.”

For protocol reasons he would not disclose her specific response, but said: “She was absolutely understanding of the need for everybody to work together to ensure we don’t go back to the past so that we can continue to move forward — she was very gracious about it.”

And that was the tenor of those key visits and meetings: that Queen Elizabeth understood she had a pivotal role to play in quietly seeking change and healing, and was prepared to take some risks to advance that objective.

That engagement led to further acts of reconciliation, including more meetings with McGuinness that weren’t as formal. Observers knocked great value out of how two years later McGuinness and Peter Robinson accompanied Queen Elizabeth to the former Crumlin Road Gaol in north Belfast, now a museum, where hundreds of republican and loyalist prisoners, and some politicians, were detained during the Troubles.

Those “guests of her majesty” in the Crum, as it was known when a working prison, included her two guides — McGuinness, who spent five to six weeks there in 1976 on remand facing an IRA membership charge; and Robinson, who was inside for three short periods over protests against the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement.

Dented bonnet

It is interesting to note the pattern of Queen Elizabeth’s visits to Northern Ireland. She first came to the North as a young 19-year-old princess shortly after the end of the second World War in July 1945, visiting Stormont for the investiture of posthumous awards to relatives of the fallen in that conflict.

Twice more she visited as a princess in 1946 and 1949, before making her first trip to the North as queen in July 1953.

She made two more visits — in 1961 and 1966 — before the Troubles broke out at the end of that decade. On the 1966 visit a concrete block thrown at the royal limousine as it travelled along Great Victoria Street in Belfast dented the bonnet. It didn’t discommode the queen who continued on to open a bridge across the Lagan named in her honour, but it was a portent of what was to come.

During the conflict she came to Northern Ireland five times — in 1977, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997.

But during the interminable peace and political processes she was a frequent visitor. Every year in 2000-2010, apart from 2004, Queen Elizabeth travelled to Northern Ireland. It was during some of those Northern events that the queen met and built up a relationship with president Mary McAleese that facilitated her visit to the Republic in 2011.

Speaking hat

An oddly memorable visit was in May 2002 when the queen travelled to Stormont where the then first powersharing Northern Executive was finding its feet.

It was decided that she would not speak in the chamber in case Sinn Féin walked out. Instead she gave a televised speech in the marbled hall of Parliament Buildings. But due to a dispute over the positioning of cameras, all that viewers could see of the queen as she spoke was her hat. It was lampooned as the visit of “the speaking hat”.

Her contribution to the peace process was acknowledged by the leaders of Ireland’s main Christian churches in September 2021, when she was forced to cancel plans to attend a cross-community church service in Armagh on medical advice — an event it was understood she had been looking forward to.

The event had already sparked significant controversy over President Michael D Higgins’s decision not to attend the service marking the centenary of partition and the formation of Northern Ireland.

“We wish to convey to Her Majesty our good wishes and, in doing so, to acknowledge the significance of her commitment to the work of peace and reconciliation, which has meant a great deal to people throughout this island,” the church leaders said.

Over those several decades and many visits to Northern Ireland she met people from every walk of life, including in 2009 the Ireland rugby team which earlier that year won the Grand Slam. There was some controversy when outhalf Ronan O’Gara chatted to her with his hands dug in his pockets.

She, as usual, appeared unperturbed and perhaps that discourtesy was ameliorated by O’Gara telling her he had met her grandson, Prince William, on two Lions tours and found him “a lovely young man”.

Sheridan was in no doubt that she was personally and sincerely committed to promoting “forbearance and conciliation” in the North, a phrase she used in her speech in Dublin Castle in 2011.

He believed another quote from that speech summed up how she understood at a deep and historic level the importance of promoting and cementing the hard-earned peace. “She was light years ahead of the politicians in terms of her views on reconciliation and the peace process and that is encapsulated in what she said at Dublin Castle, of the necessity ‘to bow to the past, but not be bound by it’.”

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Queen Elizabeth's first historic visit to Ireland confirmed

Queen elizabeth ii has formally announced her first state visit to the republic of ireland later this year. she ....

Read more: Queen Elizabeth urged to see the real Ireland during her visit

Queen Elizabeth II has formally announced her first state visit to the Republic of Ireland later this year. She will be the first British monarch to visit Ireland in a century. The 84-year-old queen will be accompanied by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, during the symbolic visit. No specific date has been given for the visit. King George V was the last British monarch to visit Ireland, when he spent six days in Dublin in 1911, when Britain and Ireland were still united under a single crown. Speaking about the Royal visit, Julian King, the British Ambassador said the invitation “symbolizes how far the relationship has come in recent years; the strength of our economic and political ties; and the progress that has been made in Northern Ireland.” “The visit will provide an excellent opportunity to celebrate this, and build on the rich and varied links that exist across these islands,” he said Friday. First Minister Peter Robinson also welcomed the announcement. He said:"The news of a visit by Her Majesty to the Irish Republic will be welcomed by all right-thinking people throughout the United Kingdom and that country as a positive development. "It is a sign of the normalization of relations between our two countries that such a visit by our Head of State will be taking place. "I would urge Republicans to afford Her Majesty the same degree of respect shown by people in the United Kingdom to Mary McAleese". Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams described the visit as premature but claimed it was an indication of how time is changing. "As Republicans Sinn Fein is very aware of the symbolism of a state visit by Queen Elizabeth of England and of the offence it will cause to many Irish citizens, particularly victims of British rule and those with legacy issues in this state and in the North," he said. Prince Charles, the eldest son of the queen has visited Ireland on several occasions including a visit to Dublin in 1995 and another in 2002. While Prince Phillip made an official visit to Dublin in 1998 and 2006. Ireland’s presidency confirmed the announcement and added that full details will be released later.

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Queen Elizabeth visited Northern Ireland 22 times over a 70-year reign, dividing opinions

Throughout Queen Elizabeth's reign over Northern Ireland, local opinions of her were as divided as the territory.

Her rule spanned all the years of The Troubles, in which more than 3,000 died in sectarian conflict.

King Charles III  visited Belfast for the first time on Tuesday, just days after being proclaimed as King.

Loyalists in Northern Ireland, who want to keep the region under British rule, remain among the royal family's most devoted subjects.

So how often did the Queen visit Northern Ireland, what were the key moments during her time there, and how did this compare with visits to other parts of the UK?

'Almost cemented the peace process'

The Queen visited Northern Ireland 22 times during her reign, and three times before she was crowned.

The first visit was in 1945. In 1953 she returned again, this time as monarch.

Following visits in 1954 and 1961, the Queen returned to Belfast in 1966 to open a bridge named in her honour.

After staying away for 11 years, the Queen visited Northern Ireland as part of Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977.

She was not to return for another 14 years, as The Troubles escalated and security concerns increased.

In 1979, Lord Louis Mountbatten, a cousin of the Queen and a much-loved mentor to the then-Prince Charles, was killed by an Irish Republican Army bomb.

The Queen did not return to the country until 1991. The majority of her visits came during the 1990s and 2000s, after the peace process took hold.

In 2012, in one of her most important visits to Belfast, she shook the hand of former IRA commander Martin McGuinness, who at the time was Northern Ireland's deputy first minister and a leading Sinn Féin politician.

The gesture "almost cemented the peace process" 14 years after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement largely ended the violence, said Peter Sheridan, head of peace-building organisation Co-operation Ireland, who organised the event and was metres away when the two shook hands.

The Queen made it back three times after that critical 2012 visit, but had to cancel a planned 2021 appearance at an Armagh church service commemorating the establishment of Northern Ireland 100 years earlier.

"Over the last half century I have always enjoyed my visits to Northern Ireland," she told the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002.

"Even in the most troubled of times I have been heartened by the warmth and good humour of the people I have met."

Members of Sinn Féin — the main Irish nationalist party, linked during The Troubles to the IRA — are attending commemorative events for the Queen and met King Charles II on Tuesday.

Sinn Fein's president Mary Lou McDonald paid tribute to the 96-year-old monarch following her death last Thursday, calling her "a powerful advocate and ally of those who believe in peace and reconciliation".

Nonetheless, Ms McDonald has made it clear that her party will pursue a referendum on reunification with Ireland.

"We've built the peace and now we look to the next phase, the reunification of Ireland, we are living now in the end days of partition and the momentum behind Irish unity is unprecedented," Ms McDonald told the Irish Independent.

The Queen was also the first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland since its independence from London almost a century earlier.

'The Queen did not shy away'

The Queen's trip to the Republic of Ireland in 2011 was described by Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Thursday as being crucial in the normalisation of relations.

She made powerful gestures of reconciliation for Britain's bloody past in Ireland during the four-day state visit, culminating in a speech in which she expressed regret for centuries of conflict.

"During those memorable few days, the Queen did not shy away from the shadows of the past," Ireland's President Michael D Higgins said in a statement.

The Queen's use of the Irish language, once banned under British rule, drew an audible grasp from then Irish President Mary McAleese and a spontaneous round of applause from the guests at Dublin Castle, the former nerve centre of British rule in Ireland.

Other symbolic moments included the laying of a wreath to those who died fighting the British crown and stepping out onto Dublin's Croke Park stadium, the scene of a massacre of 14 people by British forces almost a century earlier.

Her description of the two countries as "firm friends and equal partners" put relations with the former colony at an all-time high, after the fraught decades that followed the 1919-1921 War of Independence.

Many visits to Wales, countless trips to Scotland

While her trips to Northern Ireland were heavy with significance, the Queen travelled far more extensively in other countries within the United Kingdom.

In 1948, the then-Princess Elizabeth was given the Freedom of the City of Cardiff.

According to the BBC, the Queen made more than than 300 visits to Wales, often travelling there by royal train.

At age 17, she visited Wales on her first civil tour of the UK.

Her last official trip to Wales was in October 2021, for the opening of the Welsh parliament.

Meanwhile, few places held a spot in her heart like Scotland, where the Queen had deep ties and visited innumerable times.

Besides spending her summer months at Balmoral, her mother, the late Queen Mother, was Scottish and as a child the Queen grew up playing on her grandparents' estate of Glamis Castle in central Scotland.

"Each year, the Queen spends a week visiting various regions in Scotland, meeting Scots from all walks of life and hosting thousands at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in recognition of their good work," the UK royals website said.

"Known in Scotland as Royal Week, and to others as Holyrood Week, these visits celebrate Scottish culture, achievement and community."

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon praised the Queen on Monday as "the Queen of Scots" and "the great constant — the anchor of our nation".

The Queen spent her last days at her beloved Highland retreat, Balmoral Castle.

She was thought to have felt the most free at Balmoral Castle, where she could retreat, though not escape entirely, from the pressures of the monarchy.

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Untold story of the Queen’s historic Irish speech revealed

The untold story of The Queen’s historic speech As Gaeilge during a visit to Dublin Castle has been revealed.

The Queen passed away on Thursday afternoon in Balmoral Castle, with a statement from Buckingham Palace saying ‘The Queen died peacefully this afternoon. The King and the Queen consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.’

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The Queen made a historic visit to Ireland back in 2011, and during a speech made in Dublin Castle, she revealed she had cúpla focail — addressing those in attendance, including President Mary McAleese , ‘a Úachtaráin, agus a cháirde.’

A great story about Queen Elizabeth’s historic speech at Dublin Castle in May 2011: we’ve traced the envelope on which then President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, had scribbled phonetically ‘A Uachtaráin, agus a chairde’ (President and friends) and which secretly made its way to pic.twitter.com/c9jOnunrtp — Flor MacCarthy🇺🇦 (@florNEWS) September 8, 2022

The untold story of how the Queen has since managed her introduction has been told, revealing that Ms McAleese had written the words phonetically for her to pronounce properly in her speech.

The initial plan was for The Queen to begin her speech As Gaeilge, but protocol teams vetoed the idea on the grounds that if she fluffed the lines up, then it would be remembered rather than the actual speech. However, the letter which had the phonetic phrases written down has since been found.

‘A great story about Queen Elizabeth’s historic speech at Dublin Castle in May 2011: we’ve traced the envelope on which then President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, had scribbled phonetically ‘A Uachtaráin, agus a chairde’ (President and friends) and which secretly made its way to Buckingham Palace,’ Oireachtas TV journalist Flor McCarthy wrote.

‘Both women had hoped that the speech could begin with a few words in Irish, but the plan was vetoed by the protocol teams – too risky, they thought – if she stumbles in her Irish, that’s all that will be remembered,’ the story continued.

‘A week before the state visit, former British diplomat Francis Campbell paid a courtesy call on McAleese at Áras an Uachtaráin (both from Northern Ireland, they’d been students together at QUB). As he was leaving, Campbell pulled an old envelope from his jacket and pocket and persuaded the president to jot down the line she would have coached the queen to say.

‘Reluctantly [Ms McAleese] did so, warning him that the plan was “off the table.”‘ However, Queen Elizabeth decided to introduce the speech As Gaeilge, unbeknownst to Ms McAleese, who became speechless as she uttered phrase.

‘Elizabeth had other ideas. As she rose to her feet in Dublin Castle, the first British monarch to visit Ireland began her speech: “A Uachtaráin, agus a chairde..” An almost speechless and clearly delighted Mary McAleese can be seen exclaiming just one word: “wow!”‘

As for who taught the Queen the phrase, Francis Campbell is now Vice Chancellor of a university in Fremantle, Western Australia, and was able to find the envelope in a drawer in his desk, where he donated it to the President’s Letter Collection.

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Behind the ancient coronation traditions as King Charles is blessed, anointed and crowned

LONDON — While King Charles III , 74, has ruled since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died in September, on Saturday he was crowned monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, also becoming the largely ceremonial head of the Commonwealth .  

The U.K. is the only country in Europe to hold a lavish coronation ceremony — other countries, such as France , have abolished the monarchy, opted for a more simple affair, like Norway, or have never had coronations, such as the Netherlands.

It was the 40th coronation at Westminster Abbey, a tradition dating to 1066. Charles’ wife, Camilla , previously known as the queen consort, officially became queen.

Elizabeth , who died at age 96, sat on the throne for a record 70 years. She was 27 when she was crowned in 1953 — an era-defining moment shown on the still-new medium of television for the first time. In contrast, Charles is a veteran royal who has traveled around the world many times representing the country.

Here’s everything that happened on the day:

Procession to Westminster Abbey

Public viewing areas along the route were open from 6 a.m. (1 a.m. ET). Space was limited, as many streets in and around the abbey were closed to traffic.

Early Saturday, the military units involved in planning and executing the event arrived at Waterloo Station and then moved across the city to help marshal the thousands of onlookers.

In the morning, the procession travelled from Buckingham Palace to the abbey in a journey lasting around 35 minutes. Charles and Camilla were in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, first used by Elizabeth in 2014 . The air-conditioned carriage, which weighs 3 metric tonnes (a little over 6,600 pounds) was pulled by six Windsor Grey horses, and is only ever used by the sovereign, occasionally alongside a visiting head of state.

Follow coronation ceremony live updates here

The gilded crown on the carriage roof was carved from oak from HMS Victory — Lord Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 — and a piece of the mathematician Isaac Newton’s apple tree inscribed with his initials.

The service

The two-hour service began at 11 a.m. (7 a.m. ET). It was a somber and symbolic ceremony, largely unchanged in a millennium, in which Charles took on the role of sovereign.

The traditional Anglican anthem “ I Was Glad ” was sung as he entered, a piece based on Psalm 122 that has been used at this moment in coronations since at least 1626.

The coronation was presided over by Justin Welby , the archbishop of Canterbury , whose role has remained unchanged since 1066. 

Welby delivered a liturgy , or sermon, in which he invited the millions of Britons watching to “make their homage, in heart and voice, to their undoubted King, defender of all.” 

The service for the first time included languages from around the U.K., including a prayer in Welsh and a hymn sung in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic. 

Two thousand guests packed the abbey, including first lady Jill Biden and Prince Harry , Charles’ younger son, who has an acrimonious relationship with his father and elder brother, Prince William , and the royal establishment. 

Charles was the 10th monarch to be crowned since America declared independence in 1776. No U.S. president has ever attended a British coronation, a tradition that continues.

The recognition and oath

After he entered the abbey, Welby called for recognition of the sovereign by the people — assembled dignitaries and senior royal household staff members then acclaim the king, pledging their homage, or loyalty.

Charles then took the coronation oath, a legal requirement since a law passed in 1689 compelled King William and Queen Mary to promise to maintain the Protestant faith. The same year, Parliament passed a law that bans any Catholic from taking the throne — a rule still in effect.

At Elizabeth’s coronation, the archbishop asked her whether she would govern the people of the U.K and the Commonwealth and uphold the Anglican faith. “All this I promise to do. The things which I have here before promised, I will perform, and keep. So help me God,” she replied.

The anointing

Then Charles was anointed, blessed and consecrated by Welby as he sat in the coronation chair, a relic first used in the coronation of King Edward II in 1308.

The process of anointing is inspired by the biblical anointing of King Solomon — it is a deeply religious moment, similar to a baptism. The oil was made with olives harvested from two groves from monasteries on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, where the Bible says Jesus prayed the day before his crucifixion.

But the moment was hidden from the millions watching around the world by a screen: Tradition holds that the only witnesses will be the king, the archbishop and God.

Charles took off his crimson robes and any jewelry and wore just a simple robe as the archbishop poured oil on his head, hands and chest. As he did this, Welby said: “So be you anointed, blessed and consecrated King over the Peoples, whom the Lord thy God hath given thee to rule and govern.”

Handel’s anthem “Zadok the Priest” played during the ancient ritual. Shakespeare referred to the symbolism of the process in “Richard II”: “Not all the water in the rough rude sea/Can wash the balm off from an anointed king.”

Not all monarchs revered it, however: Elizabeth I referred to the sacred oil as “grease” that “smelt ill,” according to George Gross , a theologian at King’s College London.

After Charles received the crown jewels, the orb and two scepters, Welby placed the St. Edward’s Crown on his head. The crown features a 4.9-pound solid gold frame complete with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnets, topazes and tourmaline gemstones. It was worn by Elizabeth during her coronation and has been refitted for her son.

At the end of the ceremony, Charles switched to the lighter Imperial State Crown for the procession back to the palace.

Gun salutes were fired from across Britain both at land and sea.

The reception

After the service, the procession took the king and queen back to Buckingham Palace in a different ceremonial carriage, the Gold State Coach, on the same route around Central London that Elizabeth’s body was taken during her funeral last year. 

Some 5,000 armed forces personnel from across Britain and the Commonwealth accompany the newly crowned king and queen. A further 1,200 members of the British armed forces will line the route, according to plans shared by Buckingham Palace and the British government.

The Gold State Coach, commissioned in 1760, was first used by George III to travel to the state opening of Parliament two years later. It weighs 4 metric tonnes (almost 9,000 pounds) and needs eight Windsor Grey horses to pull it, and it can manage no more than a walking pace.

Elizabeth used it on her coronation day in 1953. On that unseasonably cold June day, royal staff members strapped a hot water bottle under her seat. Queen Victoria, her great-great-grandmother, was not fond of the gold coach and did not use it in seven state openings of Parliament, the Royal Collection Trust said .

The balcony moment and flypast

Charles and Camilla headed to the Buckingham Palace garden for a reception.

They then appeared on the famous palace balcony alongside their pages of honor and other senior royals — including the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine and Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte.

The final crescendo of the day’s pomp and circumstance was the six-minute flypast of more than 60 aircraft from the Royal Air Force, the British army and the Royal Navy, followed by the Royal Air Force’s aerobatics team, the Red Arrows.

Among the aircraft were planes that have delivered aid to Ukraine and policed NATO airspace, as well as Spitfires, the famous planes that flew in the Battle of Britain in 1940.

Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

Max Taylor is a senior desk editor for NBC News, based in London.