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Irish President Michael D Higgins in historic UK visit Irish President Michael D Higgins in historic UK visit
(about 7 hours later)
An official state visit to the UK by Republic of Ireland's President Michael D Higgins - the first by an Irish head of state - is due to get under way. The first official visit to the UK by an Irish head of state is due to get under way.
Mr Higgins will meet the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle before political engagements at Westminster. President Michael D Higgins will meet the Queen and address Parliament - another historic first.
The president will lay a wreath at the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, central London. Ahead of the trip he said Anglo-Irish relations were at a high but warned there was "significant work" to do secure peace in Northern Ireland.
His four-day visit follows the Queen's successful and symbolic tour of the Irish Republic in 2011. Ireland won independence in 1921 following a civil war and guerrilla campaign against British forces.
At the time Sinn Fein did not take part, but Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister, former IRA commander Martin McGuinness, will attend a banquet hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle on Tuesday. However, six counties were kept under British control, creating Northern Ireland.
Ceremonial arrival For centuries Ireland was under British or English rule and the more recent troubles can be traced back to the partition of the country.
The president will address the Houses of Parliament - another first for an Irish head of state - and focus on the contribution Irish emigrants have made to British life. President Higgins said there were "a lot of very difficult memories" and that it would be wrong to "wipe the slate clean".
Mr Higgins, who will be accompanied by his wife Sabina, travelled to events in London, Manchester, Liverpool and Iona last year but these were not official visits. His trip comes after the Queen became the first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland three years ago.
There will be a ceremonial arrival at Windsor Castle where the president will be able to view the colours of disbanded Irish regiments of the British army. Then Sinn Fein did not take part, but Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness will attend a banquet hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.
He will also visit the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-upon-Avon and attend a Guildhall dinner in the City of London given by the Lord Mayor. Mr Higgins said: "I think Her Majesty in coming to Ireland and addressing for example issues of relations between our two people was doing it the right way."
During his trip Mr Higgins will meet Prime Minister David Cameron at Downing Street, pay tribute to the work of Irish health professionals, and meet business leaders and London Mayor Boris Johnson. The statesman, who came to England to work as a waiter when he was 21, said his visit would be "very important for the relationships between the people of Ireland and UK".
Northern Ireland will be recognised with the Queen hosting a reception for leading cultural, political and business figures.
The president will be joined on the trip by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore.
'Good relations'
In 2011, the Queen visited the memorial to those who fought for Irish independence and spoke in Irish at a Dublin Castle banquet. Two years ago she shook hands with Mr McGuinness during a trip to Belfast.
Mr Higgins has been a stalwart of Irish public life, as a politician, poet and the subject of songs.
Ahead of the trip, he said: "We are at a very interesting point in history, when we have, following Her Majesty's visit to Ireland, such good relations between our people.
"My hope for the visit at the end of it all is that people will in ever more numbers come to share in experiencing the history, the present circumstances and culture, and do so in ever greater numbers.""My hope for the visit at the end of it all is that people will in ever more numbers come to share in experiencing the history, the present circumstances and culture, and do so in ever greater numbers."
The BBC's Ireland correspondent Andy Martin said the trip could not have happened 20 years ago, because of "lingering acrimony" between the two countries.
"All of that changed entirely three years ago," he added, when the Queen lay a wreath at a memorial to those who died fighting for Ireland's independence.
The Queen set another historic precedent two years ago when she shook hands with Mr McGuinness during a trip to Belfast.
Asked about the Northern Irish peace process, Mr Higgins said: "There is very significant work to do.
"Affecting a kind of amnesia is of no value to you, you are better to honestly deal with our facts that are standing behind you as shadows.
"How could I say to any family whose family member might be in a wheelchair or somebody who is dead, you must put it behind you?"
Politician and poet
As is customary on official state visits, the president will lay a wreath at the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, central London.
He is also due to meet Prime Minister David Cameron at Downing Street, pay tribute to the work of Irish health professionals, and meet business leaders and London Mayor Boris Johnson.
He will be joined on the trip by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore.
Mr Higgins has been a stalwart of Irish public life, as a politician, poet and the subject of songs.