President to visit England and Scotland

The President, Mrs McAleese, is to be the first head of State to visit Scotland since devolution

The President, Mrs McAleese, is to be the first head of State to visit Scotland since devolution. She will also have lunch with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace during a five-day visit to England and Scotland.

Mrs McAleese will spend November 29th and 30th in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen and will meet Scotland's First Minister, Mr Donald Dewar.

In Aberdeen she will inaugurate the Research Institute for Scottish and Irish Studies at the University of Aberdeen. She will also receive honorary degrees from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow and the University of Aberdeen.

During a three day programme in England, the President will visit the Camden London Irish Centre and will speak on the theme "The New Millennium - Blessed be the Peacemakers" at St Paul's Cathedral. She will also visit St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill, and the University of Surrey.

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Mrs McAleese's lunch with the queen, at her invitation, will be the second meeting between an Irish head of State and the British sovereign. Mrs Mary Robinson was the first Irish president to meet the queen when she visited her at Buckingham Palace.