Tags
1979, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Buckingham Palace, Diamond Jubilee, IRA, Kings and Queens of England, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Martin McGuinness, Northern Ireland, Prince Louis of Battenberg, Queen Elizabeth II, Sinn Fein, United Kingdom of Great Britain, Viceroy of India
As part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations Her Majesty, accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, are making an historic visit to Northern Ireland, a region of her kingdom that has a history of sectarian violence. I have linked a few articles which detail her trip which is currently in progress.
Her Majesty will meet with Martin McGuinness the leader of the IRA faction. In 1979 the IRA was responsible for the assassination of Her Majesty’s cousin (uncle to the Duke of Edinburgh) Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and last Viceroy of India (born HSH Prince Louis of Battenberg). According to the article in the Huffington Post, it was McGuinness himself that sanctioned Lord Mountbatten’s murder.
Edit: I wanted to add my thoughts. Being a figure head her visits are often planned for by the government. I remember the assassination of Lord Mountbatten very well, it happened in my early days of following royalty, so I have to wonder if this was Her Majesty’s choice to visit with McGuinness and how does Her Majesty really feel? We may never know.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/26/queen-elizabeth-martin-mcguinness_n_1626718.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18595918
http://news.yahoo.com/queen-meets-ira-victims-landmark-handshake-062847307.html
I think the Queen, and the Duke also, is very much like her mother in this respect. The Queen Mother was known to be someone who lived very much in the present and constantly looked to the future. To her the past was the past and not really to reflected on very often. The Duke replied to the question ‘If there was anything he wished that could have been different’ during the interview given for his 90th birthday that He didn’t dwell much of what had happened in the past. If he did he would probably be in a constant depression.
That is a good attitude to have, I need to adopt it for myself! It is good to know that in this case it isn’t too difficult for the queen to meet with McGuinnnes. A lot has changed since 1979 and has changed for the better.
Thanks Karen!