Prince William and Duchess Kate arrive in Ireland for first official royal visit
Britain’s long, fraught relationship with next-door Ireland took another positive turn Tuesday when Prince William and Duchess Kate of Cambridge arrived for a three-day royal tour aimed at reinforcing good relations in the post-Brexit era.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, making their first-ever official visit, are to take in Dublin, Galway, County Meath and County Kildare in a busy itinerary aimed at highlighting links between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
The couple was photographed disembarking from a plane at Dublin International Airport on Tuesday afternoon, local time. Duchess Kate channeled the luck of the Irish, stepping out in all green for the occasion: a patterned green Alessandra Rich dress with a long, darker green Catherine Walker coat, plus an emerald clutch and dark green pointed heels.
The two are scheduled to explore cities and rural communities, sample Irish arts and culture, visit community initiatives and take in some of Ireland’s spectacular scenery.
It’s another important assignment from the Foreign Office for the future king and queen, who have taken on increasing diplomatic responsibilities on behalf of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, 93, the United Kingdom’s most successful diplomat.
In 2011, soon after Prince William married the former Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey, the queen made a hugely successful and often moving state visit to Ireland, the first by a reigning British monarch since her grandfather, George V, toured Ireland in 1911, when it was still a restive part of the U.K.
“Following Her Majesty’s historic visit in 2011, the (Cambridge) visit will also focus on the relationship between the two countries and build on the theme of remembrance and reconciliation,” according to Kensington Palace. “The Duke and Duchess are looking forward to building a lasting friendship with the Irish people.”
So the prince, 37, and the duchess, 38, will be following in the queen’s sensible shoes. Not only are they popular around the world, they are more important than ever as young royal ambassadors now that Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan of Sussex are winding down their roles as working royals and preparing to strike out on their own in North America.
Few countries are more important to Britain than Ireland, dominated by the English and later the British for 800 years. They share a border that is the focus of anxiety now that Britain’s final divorce from the European Union grows closer.
Ireland is still a member of the EU and no one there or in Northern Ireland wants to return to the three decades of violence – “the Troubles” – that ended with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that, among other things, opened up the “hard” border to free crossings by goods and people.
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan also paid a visit to Ireland in July 2018, in their first foreign trip as a married couple following their wedding in May at Windsor Castle. In a speech he gave at a party, Harry paid tribute to the two countries as “each other’s closest neighbors.”
“The U.K. and Ireland’s relationship is unique; our shared history is long and complex. There have of course been challenging, and at times tragic, periods of that relationship,” Harry said, according to a palace transcript of his speech. “On this visit we will also celebrate just how much unites us…We share common values; culture, business links, family ties, and possibly a similar sense of humor.”
The Cambridge tour will feature some of Will and Kate’s usual interests, including projects empowering young people, Gaelic sports, marine conservation and sustainable farming.
On Tuesday, after arrival in Dublin, they met with President Michael Higgins and are scheduled to meet with prime minister Leo Varadkar. They rang the “Peace Bell” at the presidential residence, Aras an Uachtarain, and attended a commemorative ceremony to lay a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance, dedicated to those who gave their lives for Irish independence.
