Sinn Fein first minister snubs King’s offer to stay at Windsor Castle
Sinn Fein’s first minister of Northern Ireland has rejected a formal invitation from the King to stay the night at Windsor Castle, The Telegraph can reveal.
Along with the other leaders of the devolved nations, Michelle O’Neill was asked to stay at the castle after a private dinner being hosted by the monarch on Wednesday evening.
But while the first ministers of Scotland and Wales and the deputy first minister of Northern Ireland have taken up the offer to stay after the meal, Ms O’Neil has said no.
If she had accepted, it would have been the first time a Sinn Fein leader had stayed overnight at a Royal residence since the Troubles began.
A Unionist source hit out at the decision, saying: “You can’t claim to be the first minister for all and then snub the King.”
The exact reason why Ms O’Neill decided to reject the invitation to stay is unclear. A spokesman for the Northern Ireland executive declined to comment.
Ms O’Neill had attended both Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and King Charles’s Coronation – notable decisions given her party’s desire for Northern Ireland to break away from the UK. A Unionist source speculated that the latest decision may have been taken because of political pressure from her Republican support base.
The development is the latest twist in the story of how Sinn Fein, once the political arm of the IRA, and the British monarchy have built bridges in the pursuit of peace in Northern Ireland.
While the IRA once sought to assassinate members of the Royal family during the Troubles, relations have improved since the peace deal struck by Sir Tony Blair to bring about power-sharing in the province.
In 2012, Queen Elizabeth II shook the hand of Martin McGuinness, a former IRA commander who was then Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, despite her cousin Lord Mountbatten having been killed by the IRA in 1979.
The King, who had been close to Lord Mountbatten, similarly sought to push forward peace before he took the throne and has seemingly continued the approach since then.
His invitation to Ms O’Neill to stay overnight was symbolic of this ease in tensions. The dinner is intended to bring the leaders of the four nations together for conversation away from the public eye.
While senior Sinn Fein leaders have previously been hosted by the British monarch, Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine since 1999, said: “I can’t recall any occasion on which the Sinn Fein leader would have been an overnight guest of the monarch since the Troubles.
“It is a very magnanimous gesture on the King’s part, rather following in his mother’s footsteps.”
The three-hour dinner dinner is a new venture from the King, viewed by some of those attending as an attempt to further bind together the UK.
It is the first time he has hosted the leaders of the devolved administrations together. The event is said to be “private” and has not appeared on schedules detailing planned events for the political leaders.
Sir Keir Starmer, John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, Eluned Morgan, the Welsh first minister, and Emma Little-Pengelly, the Northern Ireland deputy first minister – who as a DUP politician is a Unionist – are attending the meal along with Ms O’Neill.
Mr Swinney, Ms Morgan and Ms Little-Pengelly are all expected to stay the night and attend a breakfast on Thursday. Sir Keir, whose Downing Street residence is around an hour’s drive from Windsor Castle, will not be staying over.
Spokesmen for the leaders invited, as well as Buckingham Palace, declined to comment on the dinner or the arrangements for staying overnight.
