View
comments
Security fears over the Queen's visit to Northern Ireland may have been the real reason behind her Majesty's last-minute decision not to go, experts said today.
The official reason for the Monarch's eleventh-hour change of plans was that she had caught a seasonal cold and had been told to rest for the 'next few days'.
But Royal sources today suspected that the health scare may have been something of a 'smokescreen' and a leading security expert pointed out that details of the trip had been widely reported in Belfast, revealing where the Queen would be 'was as dangerous as it gets'.
The trip also came against a backdrop of heightened security coming just five days after MP Sir David Amess was stabbed to death in a suspected terror attack.
And the ecumenical service in Armagh her Majesty was due to attend to mark the centenary of Irish partition and the formation of Northern Ireland had become mired in political controversy after Irish President Higgins turned down an invitation to the event, sparking fury from Unionists.
The Queen at a reception for the Global Investment Conference at Windsor Castle on Tuesday
Shortly after the announcement that Her Majesty had a cold, she was spotted driving around her Windsor estate and walking her Corgis.
Today a Buckingham Palace spokesperson insisted: 'We wouldn't comment on security matters. However, you will see from the advisory released yesterday that Her Majesty reluctantly accepted medical advice to rest for the next few days.'
In the past, details of Royal visits to Northern Ireland were kept under wraps until the last moment. Off-record briefings would be given to the media on condition that the news
