The Queen of England officially opened the £30 million Laganside Court complex on a vist to Belfast today.
She spent five minutes watching a mock trial in one of the new high-tech courtrooms as trainee lawyers from the Institute of Professional Legal Studies played out a case in front of a judge.
She also took a pleasure boat cruise down the River Lagan. It was the first full day public engagement the Queen has undertaken since undergoing knee surgery last month, and while she started walking unaided she used a stick as the day wore on.
The ten-minute river jaunt gave the Queen an opportunity to view the, concert hall, hotel, offices and apartments which have transformed the once derelict river frontage.
The Queen finished the tour at the riverside Halifax Bank of Scotland call centre, where, while talking to some of the 1,200 employees at their workstations during a walkabout, she offered that holiday advice.
Royal rests and insignia were banned from the inside of new court buildings in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Belfast Agreement and members of Sinn Fein were furious the Queen opened the building.
Assembly member Gerry Kelly said the decision to allow the monarch to carry out the opening "flies in the face of the Agreement's demand for a criminal justice system which would be acceptable to the entire community and neutral in terms of symbols and ethos."
PA