The Queen and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness have shaken hands for the first time.
The private meeting between the monarch and Northern Ireland's deputy first minister took place at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast on Wednesday.
It happened at an event organised by a charity, Co-Operation Ireland, which works to bring communities together.
It is understood they will shake hands in public later.
The private meeting involved a group of seven people which included Irish President Michael D Higgins and Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson.
Buckingham Palace said the Queen is wearing an apple green outfit designed by Angela Kelly.
The main event had been billed as one to celebrate the role of the arts in contributing to reconciliation and peace-building and not as part of the Jubilee celebrations.
The Queen doesn't give interviews and unlike other well-known public figures, she never bares her soul.
Her thoughts on meeting Martin McGuinness will be recorded in her diary, but not shared with the rest of us.
The Troubles in Northern Ireland took their toll on her, as they did on many others.
The IRA murdered her cousin, Lord Mountbatten. Afterwards, her sister was reported to have told someone in America "the Irish are pigs". Buckingham Palace came to the late Princess Margaret's aid, insisting she'd actually said "the Irish dance jigs".
Irrespective of any personal feelings, the Queen and her advisers know it would have been untenable for the UK's head of state to snub an elected politician.
Last year in Dublin she spoke of the importance of being able "to bow to the past, but not be bound by it".
Those present at the Lyric event include the pianist Barry Douglas, poet Michael Longley and actors Adrian Dunbar and Conleth Hill.
BBC Northern Ireland's political editor Mark Devenport said the occasion had been specifically designed to meet Sinn Fein's sensitivities and to ensure that a ground-breaking encounter could take place.
"It is being stressed the arts event has a cross-border dimension and is not part of the Jubilee celebrations," he said.
"That is in contrast to the huge party planned for Stormont, which is a celebration of the Queen's 60-year reign organised by the Northern Ireland Office."
About 20,000 people are expected to attend the event at Stormont later.
- There will be live coverage of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee visit at 14:45 BST on BBC Two NI and BBC Radio Ulster on Wednesday, with live streaming online on the BBC Northern Ireland news website.
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