Queen meets President McAleese on Irish soil
The Queen and Irish President Mary McAleese met today for the first ever time on the island of Ireland.
The two heads of state’s talks at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down, intensified speculation of an unprecedented state visit to the Republic by the Queen.
No British monarch has made such a trip since George V went to Dublin in 1911, a decade before independence.
As the Royal Standard flew above the castle where the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh stayed overnight before carrying out a series of engagements, Mrs McAleese arrived for what was scheduled to be a 20-minute meeting.
The Irish President had already met the Queen at a reception in London earlier this year, but it was today’s arrangement in Northern Ireland which was so potentially significant.
Although both Prince Philip and the Prince of Wales have made visits to the Republic, diplomats have been waiting for a time when the security and political situation is appropriate for an historic state trip by the Queen.
