The Queen is part of the reconciliation of Ireland, the head of the Church of Ireland has said.
Archbishop of Armagh John McDowell was speaking during a service of reflection for the life of Queen Elizabeth II in which prayers were said to celebrate “her life and work for this country and for the Commonwealth, and to give thanks for all she has been as Queen and, as such, head of state for the people of Northern Ireland”.
He told King Charles III and the Queen Consort, who attended the service at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast, that “faithfulness, care, dutifulness, love and devotion” were all part of her long reign.
The Archbishop said: “All of these could be employed to describe her relationship with Northern Ireland, with patience binding them all together, but paying attention, especially to what she said most recently, the word which I think will be most associated with Queen Elizabeth and Ireland, north and south, is reconciliation.”
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