King Charles III has reiterated his desire to make an official state visit to Ireland with his wife Queen Camila, according to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
King Charles, who was crowned at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, has a great love for Ireland and has made several public and private visits to the country with his wife Camila.
Varadkar said no date has been set for the visit but added that he hoped it would take place this year.
"I think that would be very welcome," Varadkar said after Charles' coronation on Saturday.
"We have deep political, economic, cultural, and personal links with Britain, which provided a welcome home to so many of our citizens for generations."
Varadkar also said Charles reiterated his desire to visit every county in Ireland.
The Irish Mirror reported last month that the visit will take place in June, adding that the Irish Government is in talks with Buckingham Palace about Charles' schedule and the places he will visit in Ireland.
Gardaí are also preparing for a "substantial" security operation for the visit, while the British Embassy in Dublin and Buckingham Palace are involved in planning the visit, according to the Mirror.
Charles would become just the second British king to make an official state visit to Ireland since Irish independence in 1922. His mother Queen Elizabeth II made history by becoming the first British monarch to visit an independent Ireland in 2011.
Meanwhile, President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins, who was present at Charles' coronation, said his attendance at the event was a "significant break from the past".
Higgins became the first Irish President to attend the coronation of a British royal and noted that Irish people were encouraged not to listen to their radios when Queen Elizabeth II was coronated in 1953.
"It is very important in terms of being able to draw the distinction between what is at the top end of the courtesies required of good relations between countries," Higgins said after Saturday's coronation.
He added that Ireland and Britain now enjoy a "sophisticated relationship".
Varadkar also compared the relationship between Ireland and Britain in 1953 and 2023 and said the current relationship was a much "better" and "deeper" one.
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