Queen to pay state visit to Irish Republic this year
The Queen is to pay a state visit to the Irish Republic this year, the first by a British monarch for a century, Buckingham Palace has announced.
Queen Elizabeth II accepted an invitation from the Republic's President Mary McAleese.
Her grandfather, George V, was the last serving monarch to visit the country in 1911 when it was then part of the UK.
The success of the Northern Ireland peace process is thought to have made the visit possible.