Anglo-Irish relations took a momentous step forward today when the Queen shook hands in public with Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness.
The historic encounter between the former IRA commander - now Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister - and the Queen was unthinkable a little over 10 years ago.
But the success of the peace process and the Queen's acclaimed visit to the Republic of Ireland last year, when her conciliatory words and gestures won over many critics of the monarchy, paved the way for their meeting.
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