27 December 2023 , 00:01
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Princess Diana showed "obvious ignorance" around Northern Ireland, sparking fury by describing it as "part of Ireland", newly declassified documents show.
The late Princess of Wales had "disregard" for constitutional niceties, according to a scathing note from the Irish ambassador in 1993. Diplomat Joseph Small wrote the message for then-Irish President Mary Robinson ahead of her historic visit to Buckingham Palace in May that year.
An irked Mr Small said the Princess had made the remark following a visit to Northern Ireland the previous year. He wrote: "Whenever we meet Prince Charles, he invariably says that he would love to visit Ireland. He is, of course, a regular visit to Northern Ireland (sic). Princess Diana has also been there.
"Early last year she said to me, with obvious ignorance of or disregard for constitutional niceties: 'I was in your country yesterday!"' Mrs Robinson's meeting with the Queen was the first time a serving president of Ireland visited the United Kingdom, and visited the monarch.
The note is among a swathe of documents released to the National Archives in Ireland. It has also emerged that the family of Pat Finucane, a solicitor who was gunned down in Belfast in 1989, were "appalled" by Tony Blair's "ignorance" as they pushed for a public inquiry into the murder.
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Jane Winter of the British-Irish Rights Watch (BIRW) said the former PM was"initially very dismissive of their case" and had at first tried to distance his Government from it. A confidential note written following a meeting with Mr Finucane's family said: "He (Mr Blair) was also badly briefed and they were 'appalled by his ignorance' of the details of the case."