King Charles vows to ‘seek the welfare’ of all in Northern Ireland

King Charles III vowed to “seek the welfare of all inhabitants” of Northern Ireland on his first visit to the region as monarch, and to follow the “shining example” of the late Queen who had played a significant role in reconciliation on the island.

Accompanied by the Queen Consort, Camilla, the King greeted cheering crowds on his arrival at Hillsborough Castle on Tuesday before meeting Chris Heaton-Harris, secretary of state for Northern Ireland, and regional politicians.

“My mother felt deeply, I know, the significance of the role she herself played in bringing together those whom history had separated, and in extending a hand to make possible the healing of long-held hurts,” the King told dignitaries in the picture-lined Throne Room.

In a veiled reference to Lord Louis Mountbatten, his beloved great-uncle killed by the IRA in 1979 during the conflict known as the Troubles, the King said his mother had “never ceased to pray for the best of times for this place and for its people . . . whose sorrows our family had felt”.

Sinn Féin, a party committed to Irish reunification and long considered the mouthpiece of the republican paramilitary IRA, skipped the weekend ceremony at Hillsborough to proclaim King Charles the new sovereign.

But Michelle O’Neill, the party’s first minister-designate, joined Tuesday’s events and has signed a book of condolences for the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the region’s biggest pro-UK political force, the Democratic Unionist party, hailed it as “a sign of political maturity that people who aspire to another way are here”.

King Charles recalled the Queen’s pledge to dedicate herself to her country.

“Now, with that shining example before me, and with God’s help, I take up my new duties resolved to seek the welfare of all the inhabitants of Northern Ireland,” he said.

It fell to Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey, speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly and a republican who was twice interned under British crackdowns in the 1970s, to deliver condolences on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland.

The region was created in 1921 by the partition of Ireland and was designed to have a permanent Protestant, unionist majority. But the biggest party in the region is now Sinn Féin and census results due next week are expected to show that Catholics now outnumber Protestants in Northern Ireland.

Delivering some remarks in Irish, Maskey said the Queen had demonstrated that “one tradition is not diminished by reaching out to show respect to another”.

“Queen Elizabeth showed that a small but significant gesture — a visit, a handshake, crossing the street or speaking a few words of Irish — can make a huge difference in changing attitudes and building relationships,” he said.

The comments were a reference to the Queen’s 2011 state visit to Ireland, and to Northern Ireland the following year when the Queen — also head of the Church of England — crossed the street to enter a Catholic church.

On the 2012 visit, the monarch also shook hands with Martin McGuinness, a former IRA commander who became deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, a gesture which cemented the peace process.

King Charles later took part in a service of reflection at St Anne’s cathedral in Belfast, attended by UK prime minister Liz Truss, Ireland’s taoiseach Micheál Martin and Irish president Michael D Higgins.

Brexit has put British-Irish relations under intense strain but the new UK government has temporarily laid aside its political differences with the EU.

The King and Camilla briefly met well-wishers after the ceremony.

Norma McKinney, who woke up at 4am to travel to Hillsborough, was preparing to make a 24-hour visit to London this week in the hope of joining those filing past the Queen’s coffin before the state funeral on Monday.

“Who knows, I might even head back for the coronation,” McKinney said.