Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has visited the famous stones of the Giant's Causeway as part of her 90th birthday tour of Northern Ireland's north coast.
The monarch and Duke of Edinburgh braved blustery conditions to view the landmark Unesco World Heritage site in Co Antrim on the second of a two-day visit to the region.
The world renowned visitor site is made up of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the majority hexagonal, that were created in a volcanic eruption.
While that is the geological explanation, ancient folklore has it that Irish giant Finn MacCool built the causeway by hand in an effort to traverse the North Channel to do battle with a Scottish giant.
In a full day of engagements, the queen and the duke also took a steam train journey to the newly-opened Bellarena station on the historic Coleraine-to-Derry line.
The queen travelled the same section of track in 1953, a month after her coronation.
There was also a visit to the nearby village of Bushmills - where they unveiled a statue to Victoria Cross recipient Robert Quigg.
The soldier was awarded the highest military honour for bravery during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
The royal couple also attended a reception at Royal Portrush Golf Club. The seaside course is due to host the Open Championship in 2019.
The trip is the third high-profile royal visit to Northern Ireland in a matter of weeks, after appearances by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
'I'm still alive,' Queen jokes
Shortly after her arrival at Hillsborough Castle yesterday, the queen met Stormont First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness separately.
Afterwards both political leaders remained tight-lipped on whether the Brexit furore was discussed.
"I'm still alive," quipped the queen when asked about her health, in her first round of public engagements since Britain voted to leave the European Union.
"We've been quite busy. There's been quite a lot going on."
The remark followed a dramatic few days for Britain that have seen Prime Minister David Cameron resign and the pound hit a 31-year-low.
It was not clear whether her comments were a reference to political events in Britain, or possibly her two recent birthday celebrations.
The queen, who turned 90 this year, added that she had been busy celebrating "two birthdays".
The monarch's birthday is celebrated twice under British tradition.
'I've had two birthdays, so we've been quite busy' the Queen tells McGuinness during her NI triphttps://t.co/WDrNvUYsne
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) June 28, 2016
Queen Elizabeth has not issued a statement on Britain's vote to leave the EU.
Voters in Scotland and Northern Ireland backed remaining in the bloc, but support for an exit in England and Wales carried the victory for Brexit by 52%.
That means a referendum on Scottish independence is "on the table" according to Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who hopes to keep Scotland in the EU.
Sinn Féin quickly called for a vote on Irish unity following the Brexit vote.
After an audience behind closed doors with the queen, Mr McGuinness refused to comment on whether they had discussed the referendum.
"We discussed many things, none of which I will tell you," Mr McGuinness said.
