Lapatilla
Members of Her Majesty’s Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms march to position before Irish President Michael D. Higgins’s arrival at Windsor Castle in Windsor, west of London on April 8, 2014. Ireland’s Michael D. Higgins is making the first state visit by a president of the republic since it gained independence from neighbouring Britain. The visit comes three years after Queen Elizabeth II made a groundbreaking trip to the republic, which helped to heal deep-rooted unease and put British-Irish relations on a new footing. Higgins’ return visit will be seen as an official sign of further progress following the hard-won peace in Northern Ireland, which remains part of the United Kingdom. AFP PHOTO / POOL / PETER MACDIARMID