Will Iris get the royal stamp of approval?

Sam Smyth

March 19 2011 10:04 AM

Will she go the wedding? Could Iris Robinson's first public appearance in 15 months be at the royal wedding in London next month? As Northern Ireland's First Lady, she could take the arm of her husband, First Minister Peter Robinson, among 1,900 other guests at Westminster Abbey.

After all, Mr Robinson last week became the proud recipient of a wedding invitation (which includes a plus one) sent on behalf of Prince William and Kate Middleton, who will tie the knot on April 29.

But it could well prove too soon an official outing for a woman who just over a year ago gained international notoriety. She was branded a scarlet woman and illuminated in purple prose on the front pages of newspapers around the world in January 2010.

Her appearance next month at the royal wedding would resurrect nightmares for her family and generate unwelcome new headlines for the young royals.

The details are squalid. As the 61-year-old MP and wife of a political leader, she seduced a 19-year-old and secured £50,000 in loans for him, then demanded a £5,000 kickback in cash.

No one who knows will say if, or how, Mrs Robinson has changed after intense therapy following her diagnosis with mental illness and the exposure of the scandal.

But on past form, nobody liked dressing up for a big day out more than Iris Robinson, a political party girl who never said 'no' to a knees-up.

The old Iris Robinson was always game for a laugh and full of mischief, which puzzled those who stereotyped her as a puritanical fundamentalist Christian.

Mrs Robinson was also a career shopper who dressed to thrill.

To celebrate her 60th birthday, Mrs Robinson had a makeover: a sharper haircut and a new wardrobe that 'cost the price of a medium-sized family saloon car', according to a local source.

The Swish Family Robinson, as they became known, received more than £570,000 in salaries and expenses in one year alone and had homes in Belfast, London and Florida.

The pre-scandal Iris would have been preparing for the biggest social event of her life from the moment the wedding invitation arrived last month.

The most expensive designer shops on London's Bond Street and Belfast's Lisburn Road would be put under siege for her wedding outfit.

But would the presence at her wedding of a 62-year-old woman with a past divert attention away from a future queen?

Presumably Prince William and Ms Middleton were willing to take that risk when they issued an invitation but such a cautious man as Peter Robinson may be less keen.

It could be too obvious a reminder of how the First Minister tiptoed away from his bystander's role in a sordid tale of sex, money and politics.

Resurrecting that period in his life, when he came within a whisker of resigning from office, would appear a reckless choice for Mr Robinson.

Just last month, the public prosecution service said Mrs Robinson would not face criminal charges following a long police investigation.

Yet some sources in the Democratic Unionist Party, founded by the Rev Ian Paisley, say there is a 50pc chance of Iris Robinson attending the wedding.

The Office of the First Minister in Belfast has confirmed that Mr Robinson's invitation to the wedding allows him to be accompanied by a guest. But reliable sources in Belfast said they believed his daughter Rebekah, who is also his private secretary, would accompany him.

Mrs Robinson spent a long time in treatment after she was diagnosed with a mental illness and did not stand for re-election last year. She withdrew from public life and is thought to have spent time at their overseas homes convalescing but she has been seen around Belfast recently.

One man who saw her on the street said she looked well but was not wearing the high fashion outfits that her opponents described as 'bling'.

Pages of jokes appeared on websites after the scandal broke last year and Iris Robinson routines were a big part of stand-up comedians' acts.

Yet there is sympathy for Mrs Robinson, too, and forgiveness offered by many in the fundamentalist Protestant churches where her, and her husband's, supporters worship. Perhaps her redemption may yet get a royal stamp of approval.

Indo Review