NEXT month's official visit to Britain by the President, Mrs Robinson will not match the pomp and ceremony of this week's state visit by President Jacques Chirac but its political significance for both countries will be far greater.
Mrs Robinson is a guest of the government, not officially of Queen Elizabeth, but while the grandeur will be less evident, the standing of the visit will be equal. The queen, Quidnunc has learned, only hosts two state visits a year and these are booked far in advance. The British government has more flexibility and so anxious was it to have our President, especially before her state visit to the US later in the month, that no effort was spared to get her there.
The Presidential party, to include Tanaiste Dick Spring, leaves for London on June 4th. That day she meets Prince Charles in connection with the Prince's Trust. The following day, it's lunch in Downing Street with John Major and a white-tie dinner in the city. On Thursday 6th there's lunch with the queen at Buckingham Palace and a Bord Trachtala function in the evening when the leading Irish people in Britain will be introduced.
On the final day of the visit, the Irish party travels to York where Prince Andrew will direct a tour of the city with particular emphasis on the Viking remains. Considering her former connection with Wood Quay, no doubt the President will be comparing how the two cities treated their artefacts.
In London the Presidential party will be accommodated in The Dorchester. As this is the first Irish state visit to Britain, there are a number of interesting happenings. Mrs Robinson's aide-de-camp means there will be an Army presence in uniform in Britain, and the Irish Guards - some of whom come from the Republic - will provide the guard of honour at the palace, with their band playing the regimental marches
Let Erin Remember and St Patrick's Day. One sticky problem remains however. What will the British call her? President of Ireland has always had connotations vis-a-vis Northern Ireland.