Diana apparently believed Northern Ireland part
of the Republic, archive shows
Briefing papers newly released by Ireland’s national
archive talk of princess’s ‘obvious ignorance’ of constitutional position
Esther
Addley
Wed 27 Dec
2023 00.01 GMT
Diana,
Princess of Wales, showed “obvious ignorance of or disregard for” the
constitutional position of Northern Ireland, apparently believing it to be part
of the Republic of Ireland, according to a note written by the Irish ambassador
to Britain in 1993.
The late
princess, at the time still married to Prince Charles, had referred to Northern
Ireland as part of Ireland in a conversation with the ambassador, Joseph Small,
he wrote in a briefing note to Ireland’s then-president, Mary Robinson.
Robinson
was preparing for a historic visit to London, the first by a serving Irish
president, in which she would meet Queen Elizabeth II.
A folder
with briefing material for Robinson, newly released by Ireland’s national
archives, includes Small’s note. In it he writes: “Whenever we meet Prince
Charles, he invariably says that he would love to visit Ireland. He is, of
course a regular visit [sic] to Northern Ireland. Diana has also been there.
“Early last
year she said to me, with obvious ignorance of or disregard for constitutional
niceties: ‘I was in your country yesterday!’”
Robinson’s
trip to England, to collect an honorary degree at the University of Oxford,
came at a time when the Troubles were continuing in Northern Ireland, but
relations between Ireland and the UK were deepening.
The
briefing note also detailed the political situation in the UK and included
notes on the Irish diaspora in the UK and the royal family, before what would
become a significant visit.
On the
second day of her trip, Robinson had been invited to pay a “courtesy call” to
the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Among the topics noted for possible discussion
between the two were Northern Ireland, recent bombing atrocities there and in
mainland Britain, cross-border issues and general relations between Ireland and
the UK.
One
observer had written to the Irish president’s office before the visit, the file
records, and noted parallels with “the last meeting between an Irish woman
leader and a British monarch” – namely the visit by Grace O’Malley or Gráinne
Ní Mháille, known as the Pirate Queen of Connacht, to Queen Elizabeth I at
Greenwich palace in 1593.
“Grace,
like yourself, was also a Mayo woman!” Dr Donald Martin from Killybegs in Co
Donegal wrote, noting that the language spoken at the time was Latin.
More than a
decade before Robinson’s visit, the newly released records reveal, her
predecessor as president was presented with a diplomatic dilemma when invited
to attend Diana’s wedding to Charles in July 1981.
A document
details the concerns of government officials over how best to convey president
Patrick Hillery’s decision not to attend. The invitations had been sent a month
after the death in prison of the IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.
“The
present state of Anglo-Irish relations, and specifically the very general
feeling of dissatisfaction in both the north and the south with the British
government’s policy on prison conditions in Northern Ireland would ensure that
there would be much unfavourable comment if the president were to attend the
royal wedding,” the document said.
It added
that with the “appropriate diplomatic excuse”, a refusal of the Irish
president’s attendance, would not “impair the political dialogue with London”.
On 26 June
1981, the final date by which the RSVP was to be given, Ireland’s ambassador to
the UK conveyed the Irish president’s “regret that, because of prior
commitments, they will be unable to attend”.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário