British Queen to Visit N.Ireland

British Queen Elizabeth will make a one-day visit to Northern Ireland on April 12 to present the province's police force with Britain's highest civilian award for bravery, the Northern Ireland Office said on Thursday. The Queen last visited Northern Ireland in 1997.

During their day in the province, the Queen and her husband Prince Philip will attend a reception hosted by Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson for a"cross-section of people from the rural community".

The Buckingham Palace's decision last November to honor the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) with the George Cross was immediately slammed as "grossly offensive" by republicans who are fighting for a united Ireland and see the police force as a partisan ally of British rule in Northern Ireland.

Next month's ceremony with the Queen will be only the second time the George Cross has been awarded collectively, rather than to an individual.

The medal was instituted in 1940 by King George VI and is awarded for acts of the greatest heroism or courage in extreme danger.

In 1942 it was given to the citizens of Malta for their courage in resisting German air force bombardments.

A peace process for the province is in limbo after Britain suspended a home-rule government earlier this year when Ulster Unionists and the republican party Sinn Fein failed to agree on guerrilla disarmament.

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