Britain’s Queen offers sympathy, regret to Ireland

Queen Elizabeth takes part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Irish War Memorial Garden in Dublin yesterday. REUTERS/Maxwell’s/POOL

DUBLIN, (Reuters) – Queen Elizabeth offered her  sympathy and regret yesterday to all those who had suffered  from centuries of conflict between Britain and Ireland in a  powerful and personal address to the Irish nation.

“To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our  troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy,”  the queen said in a televised speech at a banquet in Dublin  Castle, once the nerve centre of British rule in Ireland.

Dressed in a floor-length white gown with a diamond harp  brooch glittering on her shoulder, the queen floored the  assembled dignitaries when she