LONDON – During a grieving national tour, King Charles III heard many words of condolences over the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. But few works are as tinged with symbolism as the one presented on Tuesday by Northern Ireland Assembly speaker Alex Maskey at a royal castle outside Belfast.
Mr Maskey is a member of Sinn Fein, Ireland’s nationalist party, which is currently the largest party in the territory. He was once jailed for his involvement with the Irish Republican Army. It was an indication that Charles, the great-uncle of Louis Mountbatten, assassinated by the IRA in 1979, smiled sadly as Mr. Maskey switched to Irish to say, “May she rest in peace”.
Charles and his mother both played a role in trying to reconcile the Irish and the British after the bloody tide of the Troubles. The fruits of their efforts were displayed vividly in a bereaved Belfast. However, the new king also faces a Northern Ireland that is drifting inevitably, if slowly, towards the Republic of Ireland – another part of the UK that could disappear during his reign.
Katy Hayward, professor of politics at Queen’s University, Belfast, said: “The queen’s death comes at a time when unionism in Northern Ireland is feeling particularly anxious and uncertain about the future.
“But it also puts nationalist leaders in a difficult position,” says Professor Hayward. “Many nationalists feel uncomfortable with the king. At the same time, they must care about those who feel different. “
Members, who want to stay in the UK, fear that the post-Brexit trade rules, known as Northern Ireland Protocolwould erode their relationship with Britain, hastening the day when the territory’s growing nationalist population, primarily Roman Catholic, would vote to leave and reunify with Ireland.
Under pressure from members, the British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, threatened to scrap trade rules, sparking tensions with the European Union and Ireland that have some fearing a possible war. comprehensive trade.
However, Northern Ireland’s tense politics stepped back on Tuesday to become a day of ceremonies and funerals for the queen, which speaks to her appeal on both sides of the Irish border. Her visit to the Republic of Ireland in 2011 – in which she wore green, expressed regret over Britain’s traumatic history with Ireland and try some Irish – to be remembered there as an electric moment of personal diplomacy.
Mr Maskey praised the queen for realizing the power of a small gesture to bridge the bitter gap between people. Elizabeth, he said, understands that “a tradition is not diminished by reaching out to show respect to others.”
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Charles replied that the queen “never stopped praying for the best for this place and the people there, the stories she knows, the people our family has grieving and the people that She loved and respected her very much.” He said she saw her role as someone who could try to bring together “people history has divided”.
The new king pledged to continue that work. Having made 19 trips to Northern Ireland with his wife, Camilla, he can claim a credible record as a diplomat. He also made it to Ireland, despite the killing blow of Lord Mountbatten, who had taken a beloved teacher from him.
In 2010, Charles attended a gala dinner in his honor at the Irish Embassy in London, where he mingled with guests such as singer Bob Geldof, enamored with Irish music and enjoyed by a character. The famous Irish radio, Terry Wogan, who gave thanks. him, tongue to cheek, for “800 years of oppression.”
Bobby McDonagh, the former Irish ambassador to London who hosted the party, said Charles was excited before the reception. Mr McDonagh recalled pointing out that the embassy was across the street from the garden at Buckingham Palace, where he played as a child. If Charles had known at the time, he told his landlord, he would have thrown cobblestones at the embassy’s windows.
In 2015, during a visit to Ireland, Charles played his part in reconciliation by shaking hands with Gerry Adams, who was then leader of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the underground IRA that Mr. Long described as Lord Mountbatten, who had led the British armed forces and had a holiday home in Ireland, was a legitimate target in the IRA’s armed struggle against the British government.
Mr. Adams did not apologize for the murder during that encounter. But last year, the day after Prince Philip, the queen’s husband, was buried, Sinn Fein’s current leader, Mary Lou McDonald, issued a landmark apology. “Of course, I’m sorry that happened,” she told a London radio station. “Of course, that’s heartbreaking.”
On Tuesday in Belfast, King Charles greeted the president of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, who attended the queen’s memorial service. That made him the first head of state to see the king since he ascended the throne.
He also noted the new political landscape during a brief exchange with the leader of Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill. As head of the largest party, she was appointed the first minister in the territory’s power-sharing government. But members have refused to join, citing Britain’s standoff with Brussels over trade rules.
“What are you now, the biggest party is you?” the king asked Miss O’Neill.
She replied, “We are.”
“All that skill and ingenuity,” Charles said with a smile.
Mr. Maskey, the conference speaker, pointed to the nearby figure of Jeffrey M. Donaldson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, the party that once held that position. “Don’t tell Jeffrey that right now,” he said.
Ms O’Neill issued a conciliatory note last week, saying the queen had nurtured relationships with “those of us Irish, who share different allegiances and political aspirations to herself and her government.”
Members of the union enjoyed the royal splurge, saying they were grateful that Charles made such a quick visit. For now, “protocol is not on our minds,” said David Campbell, chairman of the Loyal Community Council, representing a pro-union paramilitary group that vehemently opposes trade rules. commercial.
However, some scholars question whether, in the long run, the united populace will find the king as an image of reassurance to their mother. Many of them particularly identify with the queen’s religious faith, Professor Hayward said.
Charles appears as a less conservative figure, accepting of inter-religious communication and issues like climate change. That doesn’t appeal to deeply conservative Democratic Unionists, says Professor Hayward. She’s also divorced, she noted, which worries some older union members.
In the corporate and loyalist strongholds of Belfast and Derry, images of the queen are ubiquitous in shop windows and on murals. Pictures of Charles less. The English king featured in corporate iconography is William of Orange, who won a famous military victory over a Catholic king, James II, in 1690.
Most experts say they doubt the Elizabeth-to-Charles transition will change political dynamics in Northern Ireland, rooted in causes much longer than the dawn of her reign.
Mr McDonagh, Ireland’s former ambassador to London, said: “I expect Charles to perform quite well as king. “But no matter how he presents himself, I wouldn’t expect it to diminish the desire of unionists to stay in the union one bit. I also don’t think it will change the aspirations of the nationalists.”
