DEPUTY First Minister Martin McGuinness had a private audience with Queen Elizabeth last night during the first night of her three-day visit to the north.
The Sinn Féin MLA met the British monarch at the queen's official residence at Hillsborough Castle in Co Down.
Mr McGuinness said the meeting was "about reaching out the hand of friendship to the unionist community".
"I met Queen Elizabeth tonight in my role as Deputy First Minister, representing the entire community," he said.
"Reconciliation requires bold gestures and this is the third time I have met with Queen Elizabeth as part of that continuing process."
In 2011, Mr McGuinness, a former IRA commander, did not attend a state banquet in Dublin in honour of the queen's historic visit to the Republic.
But a year later, he shook hands with the queen for the first time at a private meeting, and later in public at Belfast's Lyric Theatre.
In March, he toasted the monarch at a banquet at Windsor Castle as part of President Michael D Higgins's state visit to Britain.
First Minister Peter Robinson also had a private audience with the queen after she and the Duke of Edinburgh flew into Belfast last night.
Following his meeting, Mr Robinson tweeted: "A great honour to have HM Queen visit NI. A Sign of progress that such visits can now be announced in advance".
The queen also had private audiences with Secretary of State Theresa Villiers and Michael Day, chief executive of Historic Royal Palaces.
Today, Mr McGuinness and Mr Robinson will accompany the queen and the duke on a tour of the old Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast - a prison where both men were held during the Troubles.
The Victorian gaol once held prisoners including IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands, former DUP leader Ian Paisley and convicted loyalist killer Michael Stone.
It has since been redeveloped into a popular tourist attraction.
The queen and duke will also visit the Painthall studios in Belfast's Titanic Quarter today where much of the popular HBO series Game Of Thrones is filmed.
Game Of Thrones is one of the biggest TV productions in Europe and its first four seasons have contributed an estimated £82 million to the north's economy.
During their stay in the north, the royal couple will also visit St George's Market, attend a reception and lunch at Belfast City Hall and take part in a garden party at Hillsborough Castle.
The castle is hosting experts and crew from the Antiques Road-show this week and the queen and duke will visit them during their stay.
The queen will also attend a Royal British Legion reception in Coleraine, Co Derry, where she will launch a programme of activities commemorating the First World War.