Princess Diana Surprises Belfast With Her First Visit

Princess Diana, ringed by tight security, today paid a surprise first visit to bomb-scarred Belfast hours after army bomb disposal experts defused a massive land mine in a border province.

British troops in battle fatigues surrounded Belfast airport for the arrival of the 24-year-old Princess of Wales. Hundreds of police swarmed the city center, which was closed to traffic.

Security was so tight that on-duty officers were not told of the identity of the visitor. Buckingham Palace approved of the one-day trip only Sunday night, after Belfast security chiefs guaranteed Diana’s safety.

Diana, wearing a tan suit with white ruffled blouse and pillbox hat, was driven in a bullet-proof Jaguar along a 12-mile route from the airport to an engagement at the University of Ulster’s art college. Low-flying helicopters accompanied the royal car.

Security forces were surprised as the princess, breaking royal protocol in Northern Ireland, walked over to the crowd to shake hands. They pushed the crowd back, but minutes later relaxed as the princess chatted to people in the crowd.

Diana spent 45 minutes at the college, meeting faculty, talking to students and viewing their work. One student presented her with a porcelain bowl as a gift.

Diana made the visit--her first ever to the war-torn province--just hours after bomb disposal experts defused a 1,000-pound land mine in a telephone junction box near the border town of Newry, in South Armagh. Police said the mine, packed with homemade explosives, was meant to kill members of the security forces.