King Charles III and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, visited Northern Ireland on Tuesday as thousands of people filed past the Queen’s coffin in Edinburgh.   

  This is Charles’ first trip to Northern Ireland as the UK’s new monarch, following in the footsteps of his mother, who was seen as a symbol of the union and a major figure in the Northern Ireland peace process.   

  Tuesday’s historic visit saw the King arrive at the royal residence, Hillsborough Castle, where he greeted the public and viewed floral tributes.  There he met with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, and the leaders of Northern Ireland’s major political parties.   

  Charles and Camilla received a message of condolence from Northern Ireland Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey, to which the King replied: “In the years since she began her long life in public service, my mother has seen Northern Ireland go through significant and historical changes.  .  In all these years, he never stopped praying for the best times for this place and for its people.”   

  King Charles added that he would follow his mother’s example of devoting herself “to her country and her people and upholding the principles of constitutional government”.   

  After the reception at the castle, the King and Queen arrived at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast for an afternoon service of prayer and reflection.  They will be presented to religious and community leaders from across Northern Ireland.  More than 800 people are expected to attend the religious service, which was also attended by UK Prime Minister Liz Truss.   

  His visit comes at a difficult time for Northern Ireland, where political tensions are high and key issues surrounding Brexit remain unresolved.   

  While the majority of the country voted to remain in the European Union in a 2016 referendum, the UK’s ruling Conservative Party signed a Brexit deal that created new customs barriers between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain.   

  Queen Elizabeth II has been 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 that subjugated their ancestors and annexed their land.   

  Louis Mountbatten, the last British viceroy in India and Charles’ favorite uncle, was assassinated by Irish republicans along with several of his grandchildren in 1979.   

  The Queen publicly set aside those differences during a 2012 visit to Northern Ireland, shaking the hand of Martin McGuinness, one of the republicans most associated with the violence of the past.   

  Charles also shook hands with Gerry Adams in 2015, seen as another milestone in the fragile peace process, as Adams had long been associated with the Irish Republican Army (IRA), once considered the armed wing of Sinn Fein, which it is now the largest party in the North.  Ireland.   

  Sinn Fein, the nationalist party pushing for a united Ireland, did not attend the coronation of King Charles on Sunday at Hillsborough Castle.  The King and the Queen Consort will return to London later on Tuesday.   

  In Edinburgh, mourners lined up outside St.  Giles on Monday night to honor Queen Elizabeth II’s casket inside the cathedral.   

  The queue at the cathedral was closed to the public on Tuesday afternoon.  Later in the day, the Queen’s coffin is expected to be moved from St.  Giles and taken to London before being taken to Buckingham Palace to rest in the Bow Room for the night.   

  The Scottish Government said more than 26,000 people were due to pay their last respects to the Queen.   

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