King Charles III vows to work for N. Ireland Peace

King Charles III vows to work for N. Ireland Peace

Newsloosk- BELFAST, Northern Ireland

King Charles III has pledged to follow in the footsteps of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and work for peace in Northern Ireland.

Speaking Tuesday to Northern Ireland’s political leaders, including those from nationalist parties who want Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and become part of the Republic of Ireland, the new monarch said he would draw on his mother’s “shining example” and seek the welfare of everyone in Northern Ireland.

The British monarchy draws mixed emotions in Northern Ireland, where Protestant unionists consider themselves British and Roman Catholic nationalists see themselves as Irish.

The political and religious divisions fueled three decades of violence known as “the Troubles,” involving paramilitary groups on both sides and U.K. security forces, in which 3,600 people died.

Irish nationalist Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly praised Queen Elizabeth II’s role in the peace process, in a message of condolence to King Charles III.

Alex Maskey, a member of Sinn Fein, said at the Belfast ceremony that the example of the queen had helped “break down barriers and encourage reconciliation” in Northern Ireland.

BELFAST, Northern Ireland — King Charles III has received a rapturous welcome at Hillsborough Castle, the royal residence in Northern Ireland, on his first visit as monarch.

The sovereign and Camilla, the Queen Consort, flew to Belfast from Edinburgh on Tuesday, the same day the queen’s coffin will be flown to London from Scotland.

Cheers and applause greeted the royal couple as they arrived at Hillsborough, with some in the crowd shouting “God save the king!” The royal couple stopped to chat with some of the well-wishers.

The royal standard was raised on the castle’s flagpole as the monarch came in, and a 21-gun salute rang out on the castle grounds.

King Charles is to visit an exhibition about his late mother’s long association with Northern Ireland.

He is also due to meet political leaders from Northern Ireland and hold a meeting with the British government’s secretary of state for Northern Ireland.

British officials say some 500 foreign dignitaries will attend Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral, but invitations have not been sent to the leaders of Russia, Belarus or Myanmar.

Officials said the funeral next Monday, to be held at London’s Westminster Abbey, will be the biggest international event Britain has hosted in decades.

U.S. President Joe Biden was among the first to announce that he would be flying in with his wife, Jill Biden. The leaders of most Commonwealth countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Canada, are also expected to attend.

France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Italy’s Sergio Mattarella, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro are among the presidents attending.

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as well as former Spanish monarch Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia, are also due to travel to London for the occasion.

U.S. First Lady Jill Biden has shared her memories of Queen Elizabeth II, recalling when she and President Joe Biden met the British monarch at Windsor Castle in June 2021.

The visit came shortly after the queen’s husband, Prince Philip, had died after 73 years of marriage. Even though the Bidens had been instructed not to raise the subject of family, the queen began talking about just that.

“I think she just wanted to talk about her husband,” Jill Biden said in a taped interview broadcast Tuesday on NBC’s “Today.”

The queen poured tea for her visitors, showed her independence and also her curiosity, Jill Biden said.

“You know, she wanted to know all about American politics, what was happening, so she put us at ease,” she said.

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