President Michael D Higgins has hailed the transformation of relations between Britain and Ireland, from doubt to trust and mutual respect. In a historic address to Britain’s Houses of Parliament — the first time Ireland’s head of state has been given the honour — Mr Higgins said the two countries now have a closeness that once seemed unachievable.

The Queen has said that Britain and Ireland shall “no longer allow our past to ensnare our future” at a historic state banquet in honour of President Michael D Higgins.

Haunted by more than 900 years of often bloody history, Windsor Castle was a fitting place to try and lay to rest the ghosts of a troubled past.