King Charles III: New reign marks new political climate

If we had watched the events of the past ten days on the hit TV series the Crown they would have been scarcely believable.

The programme makers would have been accused, once again, of taking liberties mixing fact with fiction.

• What are the chances of getting a new prime minister and new monarch in the space of a few days?

• Are we really expected to believe Queen Elizabeth could be pictured smiling, hosting the old and new prime ministers just 48 hours before her death?

• Or what true republican from west Belfast, who was once imprisoned by the Crown forces without trial, would dress in black and lead the tributes to the Queen?

• Not to mention sharing handshakes and warm words with the new King and former colonel-in-chief of the Parachute Regiment, the British Army regiment responsible for the Ballymurphy and Bloody Sunday killings.

We know republicans have a new relationship with the royals but this was stretching credulity.

Operation Shamrock

It all happened and it is not over yet with the Queen's funeral to come on Monday.

Within hours of the death being announced last Thursday the head of the NI civil service Jayne Brady briefed the parties about "London bridge/operation shamrock", setting out how Northern Ireland was going to feature.

King Charles received a warm welcome from crowds in Hillsborough

This moment marking the end of one royal chapter and the beginning of another has been in production for decades.

Not just by those in Buckingham Palace but also by those in Connolly House - Sinn Féin headquarters in Belfast.

Having miscalculated the mood in 2011 when Sinn Fein boycotted the Queen's historic visit to Dublin, the party wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

The warmth of the royal reception in the Republic was a wake up call for Sinn Féin.

Queen Elizabeth was praised for laying a wreath at the Irish National War Memorial Garden in her 2011 visit

Since then the party has charmed the royals with handshakes, private chats and personal letters and the monarchy has responded.

The public expression of that new maturing relationship was unmistakable in the warmth of the meeting between King Charles and Michelle O'Neill at Hillsborough.

The King made a point of thanking the Sinn Fein leader for her kind words about his mother.

An "end of era" was how Michelle O'Neill lamented the Queen's passing.

The chemistry between the pair was clear.

The King even acknowledged Sinn Féin's new political status as the largest party at Stormont.

As the other party leaders listened in, Sinn Féin relished its royal endorsement knowing how well it would play beyond the plush settings of Stormont.

This was not about a party displaying its new found love of the royals but a party working through a strategy.

A maturing relationship with the Royal Family is a must for a party preparing for government in the Republic.

And if Michelle O'Neil is to fulfil her pledge to be "First Minster for all" then a good relationship with the new King is vital.

That is why the Sinn Féin vice-president accepted an invitation to the Queen's funeral at Westminster on Monday.

While it will be uncomfortable for some republicans to see Michelle O'Neill dressed in black mourning the monarch it's a risk the party is happy to take.

It will be a sobering sight for those Sinn Fein supporters who lambasted former SDLP leader Mark Durkan for attending the Queen Mother's funeral in 2002.

How times have changed

While acknowledging Sinn Féin's reaching out privately, some unionists have questioned the party's sincerity asking why only one Sinn Fein MLA - Michelle O'Neill - signed the book of condolence and why only the party vice-president paid tribute to the Queen in the assembly chamber.

In a week which has been dominated by the optics, the political problems have been parked up.

While the cameras were trained on the royal couple the most important engagement happened at St Anne Cathedral.

Prime Minister Liz Truss had her first face-to-face encounter with the Stormont party leaders and Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

Michelle O'Neill had her first meeting with Liz Truss as PM during the service at St Anne's Cathedral

They all gathered ironically in the Chapel of Unity just off the main nave in the Cathedral.

The need to restore the Stormont Executive and find a negotiated solution to the protocol featured in the chat as they mingled.

But it wasn't a day for detail, it was more about mood than movement.

Expect more of the same on Sunday when the Prime Minister meets the taoiseach at Downing Street and later President Biden.

With the end of one reign and the beginning of two others, it has been a time of massive change at a time of massive challenge.