Coveney hosting royal couple

TÁNAISTE Simon Coveney will today host Prince Charles and his wife Camilla at a dinner in the Irish Embassy in London

The event is being held in honour of the Irish community in the British capital. Along with Charles and Camilla, those in attendance will include Tory and Labour MPs, British sports stars and other well-known personalities.

The pre-St Patrick’s Day event is being viewed as a chance to boost Anglo-Irish relations, which have frayed badly in recent months as a result of Brexit negotiations.

A Buckingham Palace source confirmed yesterday to the Irish Daily Mail that Charles and Camilla will attend.

An Irish Government spokesman said the event ‘is taking place in the embassy, and it’s basically inviting people across culture, media, sport and public life in the UK, and that’s against the background of Anglo-Irish relations’.

A Government source said: ‘There’s no doubt that the relationship between us hasn’t been at its strongest in recent times. This is a good opportunity for us to focus on the things that unite us. While there will be Tory and Labour MPs there, this isn’t being viewed as an opportunity for discussions on Brexit.

‘Of course that might come up, but this is more about strengthening the relationship between the two countries.’