Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has written privately to Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles to express her condolences on the death of Prince Philip.
In response to queries from The Irish Times, her office confirmed she had written to the royals.
Following Prince Philip's death, Ms McDonald tweeted her condolences to the queen and to “those of a British identity on our island, for whom his death will be felt as a great loss”.
The news comes days after Ms McDonald said in an interview of British radio that she was “sorry that happened” when asked if she would apologise to Prince Charles for the killing of his uncle, Lord Mountbatten, by the IRA in 1979.
“The army and the armed forces associated with Prince Charles carried out many, many violent actions on our island.
“And I can say of course I am sorry that that happened, of course that is heartbreaking.
“And my job, and I think Prince Charles and others would absolutely appreciate this, is to lead from the front now in these times.
“And I believe it is all of our jobs to ensure that no other child, no other family, irrespective of who they are, face the kind of trauma and heartbreak that was all too common on all sides – let me emphasise on all sides – of this island and beyond.
“I have an absolute commitment and responsibility to make sure that no family faces that again. And I am happy to reiterate that on the weekend that your queen buried her beloved husband.”
'Lovely letter'
She relayed how Charles had written her a “lovely letter” last year after she fell ill with Covid-19, adding: “I thought that was most decent and kind of him.
“Whereas we are not obviously monarchists, we’re republicans, that’s our political view, we have the utmost respect for that family and for who they are and what they represent to British people and indeed to unionists and loyalists here.
“And interestingly, the conversations that you have when people like us meet people like the royal family are not conversations around recriminations or there’s never a demand for apologies.”
