Prince Charles Shakes Hands With Gerry Adams In Historic Reconciliation Gesture Tuesday May 19,2015

 

Prince Charles and Gerry Adams have shaken hands in a historic moment of reconciliation.

The two men smiled at each other as they shook hands in front of the world's press for several seconds and exchanged words in a packed hall as the prince toured the National University of Ireland Galway on Tuesday May 19,2015
Charles held a cup of tea with his other hand throughout the exchange. Gerry Adams leaned forward to speak close to the Prince's ear several times

What the pair actually said during the brief exchange has not been reported though Adams and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness also had a private meeting with the prince

The brief meeting is a remarkable gesture between the Royals and Irish Republican movement as Charles' great uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten was assassinated by the IRA in 1979.

The prince agreed to meet Gerry Adams following a request by the Sinn Fein President, who is one of the most prominent and controversial republican figures of the last 50 years.

Gerry Adams is the most senior republican to meet the Prince and it comes after his party colleague Martin McGuinness, the Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister and former IRA commander, shook hands with Charles at a state banquet in Windsor Castle last year and met the Queen in 2012.