State visit for UK's King Charles to Ireland next year
President Catherine Connolly has invited King Charles to Ireland next year for a State visit, which the President said he has "graciously accepted".
It will be the second State visit by a British monarch to Ireland since independence. Charles' mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, paid a State Visit to Ireland in 2011.
This was followed by a State visit to the UK by President Michael D. Higgins in 2014, in what was the first such visit by an Irish president.
President Connolly was meeting Charles at Buckingham Palace as part of her three-day visit to the UK.
The meeting lasted over half an hour.
Speaking after the meeting, President Connolly said the meeting was "wonderful", saying the two had a lot in common in relation to the environment.
President Connolly also said in a statement: "King Charles knows Ireland well and has been a positive voice for peace and reconciliation."
She said she was sure that Charles "will receive the warmest of welcomes and this will represent a further deepening of our relationship as neighbours and as friends".
Details of the visit will be worked out in consultation with the two governments.
Earlier, President Connolly said some Irish people are leaving Ireland because of a lack of housing, and spoke about the waves of people who left Ireland for Britain in the 1950s and 1980s.
She said during this period, unemployment and economic stagnation pushed many to leave for better opportunities abroad.
Speaking at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith,, she paid tribute to the contribution Irish immigrants have made to British society.
The President said there was "hardly a sector" of the economy or an area of life in Britain that has not been touched by the Irish.
President Connolly said: "The Irish contribution to British society is as diverse as can be imagined.
"From the arts and culture, to healthcare, education, construction and infrastructure, as well as professional, scientific and technical services.
"Indeed, there is hardly a sector of the economy or an area of life that has not been touched by the Irish here in Britain."
President Connolly also highlighted the centre's work in promoting the Irish language and its music.
"Language gives us a powerful sense of home. As President, it fills me with pride to see the interest that so many show in our beautiful language," she said.
The Irish ambassador to Britain Martin Fraser and Deirdre Fraser will host a reception this evening in honour of President Connolly and her husband, Brian McEnery, at the Irish embassy in London.
The visit will continue tomorrow when the president visits the Chelsea Flower Show and the London Irish Centre in Camden.
It will conclude on Wednesday with visits to Leeds University and the Leeds Irish Centre.
In Leeds, President Connolly will be briefed on the work of the Irish Health Centre there and will also meet representatives of other Irish centres in the region.
It is the third official visit the president has undertaken since commencing her term of office, following visits to Northern Ireland and Spain.