A former British agent linked to the deaths of several people was invited to a thanksgiving service attended by King Charles to mark the end of Operation Banner.
Former RUC, MI5 and British army Peter Keeley, who is also known as Kevin Fulton, is currently at the centre of around 25 legal cases linked to his role in the Troubles.
He has previously been linked to IRA attacks that resulted in the deaths of British soldiers, RUC officers and civilians.
It has now emerged that King Charles, who at the time was Prince of Wales, along with his wife, were present at a 2008 "service of thanksgiving to commemorate the end of Operation Banner by the UK armed forces in Northern Ireland".
Operation Banner was launched by the British army in 1969 and ran until 2007.
During that time more than 700 British soldiers were killed while deployed in the north.
The invitation was issued by the then Secretary of State for Defence Des Browne.
The event was held in St Paul's Cathedral in London and followed by a buffet lunch.
In recent years Keeley has emerged as one of the most controversial figures of the Troubles.
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In June last year the PSNI and Ministry of Defence settled High Court actions with the mother of IPLO man Eoin Morley after she secured a judgment against Keeley.
He has been linked to the death of Mr Morley, who was shot during a botched paramilitary-style attack in Newry in 1990.
He has been linked to an IRA mortar attack that resulted in the death of RUC officer Colleen McMurray in March 1992.
She died after the police car she was travelling in was struck by a Mark 12 horizontal mortar in the Merchant Quays area of Newry.
In a Police Ombudsman's report published in 2021 Marie Anderson confirmed that an IRA man referred to as Person A was a Special Branch agent. He is understood to be Keeley.
Person A is believed to have been involved in the development of the ‘flash-initiated’ technology used to trigger the mortar that killed Ms McMurray.
In 2006 Keeley was arrested in England and questioned about the Morley killing and that of British soldier Cyril Smyth, who was killed when the IRA carried out a bomb attack on a checkpoint outside Newry in 1990.
The former agent was also linked to the Real IRA unit that carried out the 1998 Omagh bomb, which claimed the lives of 29 people.
Eilish Morley said she was "stunned beyond words at this news".
"His actions were state sanctioned and no consideration was ever given to him being made accountable," she added.
"He was rewarded with an invite to meet Prince Charles at this event.
"That says it all about what they think of Irish people.
Solicitor Kevin Winters, of KRW Law, said the invitation highlights "the attitude of the upper echelons of the British army and establishment to its role in the conflict".
"Peter Keeley was an embedded British soldier masquerading as an IRA man for over 20 years."
Mr Winters said the cases linked to Mr Keeley "represent as diverse a range of Troubles victims as you will find".
"And yet he was rewarded for his 'undercover work' with a invite to meet the former Prince Charles and others.
"It's both shameful and insulting to all the next of kin and other victims."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “Due to civil claims involving the Ministry of Defence and Peter Keeley, which are currently active before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.”
