The Queen: Historic handshake with Martin McGuinness

The Queen met the then Northern Ireland deputy first minister Martin McGuinness, of Sinn Féin, for a very important handshake in June 2012.

She was used to shaking the hands of many world leaders, celebrities and members of the public. But this time it was very different.

As part of the second day of her trip to Northern Ireland, she shook Mr McGuinness' hand as a symbol of reconciliation.

Mr McGuinness, who died in 2017, was a former commander in the IRA, who later, as a politician, worked at the heart of the Stormont power-sharing government following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

This page was republished on 10 September 2022.