THE Queen has sent her condolences to the widow of former Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland.

Buckingham Palace confirmed that a note would be sent to Martin McGuinness' wife Bernadette, with the divisive figure in the Northern Ireland peace process having faced criticism by his detractors just hours after his death.

16 When McGuinness asked the Queen how she was doing in Belfast in June last year, the monarch replied: 'Well, I'm still alive'

The monarch last met with McGuinness, who had fought against British rule in Northern Ireland, in June last year, with the Queen joking "I'm still alive" when he asked how she was.

The pair had previously met as relations thawed, with their first meeting marked by a historic handshake in 2012.

AFP photographer Paul Faith captured the telling image, recalling that McGuinness had been "quite relaxed" despite those around the pair - including security - on tenterhooks.

16 McGuinness died of a short and rare heart condition surrounded by his friends and family this morning

The Queen's message of condolences comes despite heavy criticism of McGuinness, including sharp comments led by Norman Tebbit, who said the world was a "sweeter and cleaner place" after the 66-year-old's death.

Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain, Mr Tebbit said: "He was a coward of course.

"The reason that he suddenly became a man of peace, as you call it, was that he was desperately afraid that he was going to be arrested and charged with a number of murders that he had personally committed."

Mr Tebbit, whose wife Margaret was left permanently paralysed after an explosion at the Grand Hotel in Brighton in 1984, refused to believe McGuinness had changed when he moved into politics, saying that there had been none of the necessary "confession of sins and repentance".

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16 McGuinness was the chief of the IRA when Prince Charles' great uncle Lord Mountbatten was killed in a bomb attack - McGuinness and the heir to the throne are pictured here shaking hands in May 2015

When pushed on his thoughts over the peace process that Mr McGuinness was instrumental to, Lord Tebitt said: "You might just as well say if Himmler had of succeeded Hitler and wiped out the Jews it would have removed the problem and there would have been peace in Europe."

Questioned over whether he was swayed by his own experiences, including the injuries suffered by his wife, the former UK Conservative Secretary of State said: "It's not merely that these creatures crippled my wife but they also murdered five of my close friends.

"I only hope that his death will help to bring some sort of closure to those families and friends of those whose murder he accomplished."

16 Norman Tebbit is rescued from the Grand Hotel in Brighton where PM Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet were targeted by the IRA in 1984

16 Five people were killed and 31 injured in the bomb blast at the Conservative party conference Credit: PA:Press Association

Lord and Lady Tebbit pose at The Grand Hotel after returning in 2009

The 85-year-old also refused to see any similarties between McGuinness and South African leader Nelson Mandela when questioned by the show's hosts, saying: "There is no parallel whatsoever.

"Nelson Mandela's position was of course he was living in a country which was not a democracy, the majority could not vote in South Africa.

"In Northern Ireland the problem for the IRA was that they couldn't achieve their aims by democratic means.

"The ballot was useless to them, they always lost, so they used the bullet instead."

16 Lord Tebbit said that he did not look back kindly on McGuinness Credit: PA:Press Association

Blistering attack on Martin McGuinness from Lord Tebbitt. 'He was a coward who never atoned for his crimes.' @GMB — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 21, 2017

Lord Tebbit said: "I'm just pleased that the world is a sweeter and cleaner place now.

"He was not only a multi-murderer, he was a coward. He knew that the IRA were defeated because British intelligence had penetrated right the way up to the Army Council and that the end was coming.

"He then sought to save his own skin and he knew that it was likely he would be charged before long with several murders which he had personally committed and he decided that the only thing to do was to opt for peace.

"He claimed to be a Roman Catholic. I hope that his beliefs turn out to be true and he'll be parked in a particularly hot and unpleasant corner of hell for the rest of eternity."

While admitting on Talk Radio that he had never met McGuinness, he said he would have wanted to meet him "only on a dark night".

The 66-year-old republican died in Derry's Altnagevin hospital surrounded by his friends and family, just two months after he resigned from his role in government.

The Sinn Féin chief is understood to have been suffering from a rare heart condition.

His death has sparked a divided reaction in his home country and across the UK.

To his supporters he was a peacemaker who was willing to compromise and form ties with the unionists to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

To others he was a key figure in the IRA terrorist group that slaughtered more than 1,500 people in its conflict with Northern Ireland's unionists and the British government.

The younger sister of an IRA bombing victim was just one to lash out, saying "the truth has died" with McGuinness' death.

Julie Hambleton said relatives of many of the terrorist group's victims were still waiting for "truth and justice", claiming: "He was very opaque and selective with the truth.

"With him, the truth has died and that's the big problem."

Julie, who leads the Justice4the21 campaign which last year won fresh inquests into the deaths of 21 people who died in two pub bombings in Birmingham in 1974, said she still hoped other former IRA members would speak about what happened during The Troubles.

She said: "I can but hope that lips will be looser, not just for our loved ones but for everybody's sake - many of whom still after all these years have no body to bury."

16 Image shows the aftermath of the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974 where 21 people lost their lives Credit: Caters News Agency

McGuinness is seen here at the funeral of IRA explosives expert Colm Keenan in 1972

The paramilitary turned politician always denied leading the IRA at the height of the Troubles.

McGuinness' political career came to end just months ago when he resigned as Deputy First Minister in the Northern Ireland assembly.

The move was apparently prompted by the refusal of the first minister Arlene Foster to stand down during an inquiry into a public energy scandal.

After the signing of the Good Friday agreement in 1998, McGuinness developed a deep and close relationship with his longtime rival Ian Paisley - the bullish leader of the Democratic Unionist Party.

Their friendship is said to have enabled the success of the Northern Ireland peace process.

Sinn Féin and the DUP agreed to share power in 2007 and Paisley became First Minister while McGuinness became Deputy First Minister.

The pair earned the nickname "The Chuckle Brothers" as images of them laughing and joking together frequently appeared in the press.

Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness are sworn in as Ministers of the Northern Ireland Assembly in May 2007

16 McGuinness with Tony Blair and Gerry Adams during peace negotiations in Downing Street in 2005

16 Constituency staff of Belfast West MLA Alex Maskey tie lilies to the gates of Connolly House, Andersonstown, Belfast, after the death of Northern Ireland's former deputy first minister Credit: PA:Press Association

16 A passerby stops at the gates of Connolly House, Andersonstown, Belfast to read a message from Gerry Adams after the death of McGuinness Credit: PA:Press Association

Tony Blair, the Prime Minister when the Good Friday Agreement was signed, paid tribute to McGuinness.

He said: "I grew up watching and hearing about the Martin McGuinness who was a leading member of the IRA engaged in armed struggle. I came to know the Martin McGuinness who set aside that armed struggle in favour of making peace."

The British Prime Minister Theresa May said this morning: "While I can never condone the path he took in the earlier part of his life, Martin McGuinness ultimately played a defining role in the leading the Republican movement away from violence.

"In doing so, he made an essential and historic contribution to the extraordinary journey of Northern Ireland from conflict to peace."

16 McGuinness visited Downing Street in October last year for talks with Theresa May about Britain's decision to leave the EU

Months before he resigned McGuinness met with the Queen at Hillsborough Castle in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

When he asked the monarch how she was doing, she replied: "Well, I'm still alive."

McGuinness' closest political ally Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Fein, confirmed the death of his longtime friend this morning.

Adams said: "Throughout his life Martin show great determination, dignity and humility and it was no different during his short illness.

"He was a passionate republican who worked tirelessly for the peace and reconciliation of his country."

McGuinness and Adams worked with Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair to help bring about the signing of the Good Friday agreement on April 10 1998.

The agreement was a major political development in the peace process that decided how Northern Ireland should be governed.

16 Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams pictured at the 20th anniversary of the deployment of British soldiers in Northern Ireland

16 McGuinness and Gerrry Adams in the grounds of Castle Buildings, Stormont, after peace talks with Unionists broke down in 1998

'He set aside that armed struggle in favour of making peace': Tony Blair's statement on Martin McGuinness Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "I am very sorry to learn of Martin's death and send his family my deep sympathy and condolences. "I grew up watching and hearing about the Martin McGuinness who was a leading member of the IRA engaged in armed struggle. I came to know the Martin McGuinness who set aside that armed struggle in favour of making peace. There will be some who cannot forget the bitter legacy of the war. And for those who lost loved ones in it that is completely understandable. But for those of us able finally to bring about the Northern Ireland peace agreement, we know we could never have done it without Martin's leadership, courage and quiet insistence that the past should not define the future. "After first meeting in Northern Ireland and then again shortly after in Downing Street - an historic meeting, between a British PM and the Republican leadership in the Cabinet room where so much Irish history had been made - he explained at length to me the causes of Republican grievance. I listened. We talked. And as the meeting went on he explained why he thought despite all the grievance there was a chance for peace. "Over the years - through the arduous negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement - and for the years after it, I got to know Martin well. We met many, many times and as the trust grew between himself, my team, Gerry Adams and their team, so the discussions became increasingly open, frank and therefore productive. "By the time that extraordinary day arrived in 2007 after almost a decade of hard work where we could witness the - to my generation - incredible sight of he and Ian Paisley sitting down together in Government, the transition of Martin to reconciliator was complete. "Whatever the past, the Martin I knew was a thoughtful, reflective and committed individual. Once he became the peace maker he became it wholeheartedly and with no shortage of determined opposition to those who wanted to carry on the war. "I will remember him therefore with immense gratitude for the part he played in the peace process and with genuine affection for the man I came to know and admire for his contribution to peace."



McGuinness, who was married with four children, was the IRA's chief of staff from 1979 until 1982.

He ran the paramilitary organisation when Lord Mountbatten, Prince Philip's uncle, and 18 British soldiers were killed on the same day.

So sad Martin McGuinness has died. Some will never forgive his past but without him there would be no peace. The man I knew was a great guy — ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@campbellclaret) March 21, 2017

Martin McGuinness played a huge role in bringing about peace in Northern Ireland. He was a great family man and my thoughts are with them — Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) March 21, 2017

McGuinness served as deputy first minister of Northern Ireland between May 2007 to January 2017.

His resignation sparked a snap election that resulted in Sinn Féin coming within a seat of the Democratic Unionists as the largest party in the assembly.

His health deteriorated in the days after the result and he had to be moved from his home in Derry to a hospital in the city.

McGuinness was said to be suffering from amyloidosis.

The condition is caused by deposits of an abnormal protein called amyloids in tissues and organs within the body.

McGuinness was once described as "Britain's number one terrorist" and was second in command of the IRA in Derry at the age of 21.

He held the position at the time of Bloody Sunday when 14 civil rights protesters were killed by British soldiers.

A year later he was convicted by the Special Criminal Court after he was found near a car containing explosives and ammunition.

He was sentenced to six months in prison in 1973.

After his release he became an increasingly important figure in the IRA's political arm Sinn Fein.