Royal couple visit Belfast

Armed police kept watch from the rooftops as England's Prince William and his bride-to-be Kate Middleton brought the centre of Belfast to a standstill today.

A small crowd gathered in the bright sunshine inside the grounds of City Hall in the hope of a walkabout after police sealed off streets and diverted traffic as part of a huge security operation for the couple’s first visit to the North.

They arrived at the George Best City Airport at Sydenham, east Belfast.