Britain’s King Charles III pledged in Belfast on Tuesday to follow in the footsteps of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and work for peace in Northern Ireland.
Charles III addressed the political leaders of Northern Ireland, including those of nationalist parties, who want Northern Ireland to leave the UK and become part of the Republic of Ireland.
The new monarch, who assumed the throne of the United Kingdom after his mother died last Thursday at the age of 96 and after more than 70 years of reign, assured that he will follow the “brilliant example” of Elizabeth II and commit himself for the benefit of everyone in Northern Ireland.
The British monarchy evokes mixed feelings in Northern Ireland, where Protestant unionists consider themselves British and Catholic nationalists consider themselves Irish.
Political and religious divisions led to three decades of violence, between the late 1960s and the signing of the Belfast Agreement on April 10, 1998, in which paramilitary groups on both sides and British security forces lost their lives, killing around 3,600 people .
The 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 – the ruling party – also said at the ceremony that the Queen’s example helped “break down barriers and encourage reconciliation” in Northern Ireland.
Charles III arrived in Belfast today for his first visit as British monarch to Northern Ireland, which has faced new tensions since ‘Brexit’.
Northern Irish trade unionists, deeply devoted to the Queen who died last week, fear that their cause, which belongs to the United Kingdom, is under threat more than ever, in a political context disrupted by ‘Brexit’ (the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union) for the historic rise of nationalists.
Local government has been on hold for months, with the unionist DUP party opposing post-‘Brexit’ customs settlements negotiated between London and Brussels, which it believes threaten Northern Ireland’s place in the UK.
Sinn Fein, for his part, refuses to recognize the authority of the monarchy in Northern Ireland and has not taken any seats in the Westminster parliament.
The vice president, Michelle O’Neill, did not participate in Charles III’s official proclamation in Hillsborough on Sunday, but the party says it will meet with the king and other politicians and attend the service to honor the queen.
Carlos III is expected to meet with politicians from the various communities, as part of a visit to the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), to receive condolences on the death of his mother.
Source: DN
