Queen Elizabeth’s death: King Charles III and Camilla visit Northern Ireland as
The Queen’s coffin has been carried out of St. Giles’ and is being taken to the Scottish capital’s airport before being flown to London. It will then be driven to Buckingham Palace to rest in the Bow Room overnight.
Mourners had queued outside the cathedral on Monday evening for their turn to pay their final respects, before it closed on Tuesday afternoon. The Scottish government said more than 26,000 people got to file past the Queen.
The historic visit saw the King arrive at the royal residence, Hillsborough Castle, where he greeted the public and looked at floral tributes. There he met with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, and the leaders of Northern Ireland’s biggest political parties.
Charles and Camilla received a message of condolence by the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly Alex Maskey, to which the King replied: “In the years since she began her long life of public service, my mother saw Northern Ireland pass through momentous and historic changes. Through all those years, she never ceased to pray for the best of times for this place and for its people.”
King Charles added that he would follow his mother’s example of dedicating “herself to her country and her people and to maintain the principles of constitutional government.”
Following the reception at the castle, the King and the Queen Consort arrived at St. Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast for an afternoon service of prayer and reflection. They will be introduced to faith and community leaders from across Northern Ireland. More than 800 people are expected to take part in the religious service, which was also attended by UK Prime Minister Liz Truss.
His visit comes at an uneasy moment for Northern Ireland, where political tensions are high and key issues around Brexit remain unresolved.
While the majority of the country voted to remain in the European Union in the 2016 referendum, the UK’s ruling Conservative Party signed a Brexit deal that created new customs barriers between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain.
Elizabeth was the monarch for 70 years of Northern Ireland’s 101-year history.
She was Queen during the 30 bloody years of violence known as “The Troubles,” which pitted UK unionists against Irish nationalists, with the British Crown emblematic of much that divided the province.
Unionists are loyal to the Crown and the traditional British values they believe it enshrines. For Irish nationalists, it is the symbol of the British forces who subjugated their ancestors and annexed their land.
Louis Mountbatten, the last British Viceroy to India and Charles’ favorite great-uncle, was murdered by the Irish Republicans along with several of his grandchildren in 1979.
The King and the Queen Consort have now left Belfast on their return to London.
CNN’s Nic Robertson and Max Foster contributed to this report.
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