that followed, with scarcely any lessening of their workload, she appeared to enjoy her role with renewed enthusiasm. in 2011, she was at westminster abbey for the wedding of her grandson, prince william, to catherine middleton. it was a moment when the public�*s appreciation for the monarchy seemed to be reconfirmed. a few weeks later, at the age of 85, the queen made one of the most important foreign visits of her reign when she became the first british monarch to visit the republic of ireland. she laid a wreath in memory of those irish nationalists who had risen up against the crown, and at a state dinner in dublin castle, she spoke with regret about britain's treatment of ireland. with the benefit of historical hindsight, we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently — or not at all. the following year, in belfast, she met and shook hands with martin mcguinness, a former leader of the ira who by then was deputy first