Cheering crowds greeted King Charles III in Northern Ireland on his tour of the four parts of the United Kingdom, where the visit drew a rare moment of unity from politicians in a divided region.
EDINBURGH, Scotland — A military transport plane carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II left her beloved Scotland on Tuesday for the final time to return to London, where she will lie in state.
Over the past 24 hours, thousands of people filed silently past the coffin after it was brought to Edinburgh from Balmoral Estate, where she died Sept. 8 at age 96, ending her 70-year reign. While there was a warm welcome in Hillsborough, the British monarchy draws mixed emotions in Northern Ireland, where there are two main communities: mostly Protestant unionists who consider themselves British and largely Roman Catholic nationalists who see themselves as Irish.
Maskey expressed condolences to the king at an event in Hillsborough Castle attended by leaders from all the main political parties in Northern Ireland. Politicians from across Northern Ireland’s divides attended a memorial service for the queen in Belfast. British Prime Minister Liz Truss, her Irish counterpart Micheal Martin and Irish President Michael D. Higgins were at St. Anne’s Cathedral in the center of Belfast for the Anglican “service of reflection.”