Prince William on Wednesday called on the United Kingdom and Ireland to turn the page on their troubled common past on the second day of an official visit to Ireland. It was placed under the sign of reconciliation.
“We do well to continue to remember those who suffered the consequences of our troubled past,” said the prince, second in succession to the British throne, referring to the struggle for independence from the Ireland.
“But if a lot of harm has been done, it is important that we do not remain attached to it,” he added during a three-day visit with his wife Kate.
The entire island of Ireland was under British rule until the bloody war of independence which ended in 1921 with the partition of the island, the north of which remains a province of the United Kingdom.
This partition also culminated in the second half of the 20th century in three bloody decades of “Troubles” in Northern Ireland: the mostly Catholic Republicans and supporters of the reunification of Ireland opposed the Protestant loyalists, defenders of the maintenance under the British crown, killing 3,500. A peace agreement had been concluded in 1998.
Previously impossible visits
Prince William’s speech echoed that of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, during her historic visit to Ireland in 2011. She had launched a call for reconciliation, during this first trip of a British sovereign since the formation of the Republic of Ireland.
Previously, visits by the royal family were impossible due to the threat of groups like the IRA (Irish Republican Army), a paramilitary formation fiercely opposed to the British presence and militant for the unification of the island.
“Growing up, I remember seeing the Troubles, which affected so many people in the UK and Ireland,” said William, whose great-uncle, Louis Mountbatten, was killed in 1979 by a bomb placed under his boat by the IRA.
The couple’s visit comes at an unprecedented time in Irish political life. In a country hitherto dominated by two big centrist parties, the republican party Sinn Fein, formerly considered as the political showcase of the IRA, achieved a historic breakthrough during the legislative elections, becoming the second party of the country. But without a majority and a coalition agreement, the country finds itself without a new government. (Ps / nxp)
Created: 05.03.2020, 00:32
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