State visit of the President of Ireland to the United Kingdom with full cavalry escort to Windsor Castle, where the President, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, inspected a Guard of Honour provided by the 1st Battalion Irish Guards. President Higgins presented a ceremonial red coat to its regimental mascot, an Irish Wolfhound called Domhnall of Shantamon. The President viewed Irish-related items from the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. Afterwards they departed for London and visited Westminster Abbey for a tour, where the President laid a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior and paid his respects with a bow to the tomb of Louis, the Earl of Mountbatten. After
The Monument to the Unknown Soldier Arch became the entrances to the square. The "Unknown Soldier's Monument" represents a traditional shield (dira¹a) dropping from the dying grasp of an Iraqi warrior. The monument also houses an underground museum. The "Monument to the Unknown Soldier" was commissioned in 1979 and completed in 1982. It was part of a broader Ba'athist government program to build a number of public works that would help instil a sense of national pride, and at the same time immortalise Saddam Hussein's reputation as a powerful leader. Saddam turned to his favourite artist, Khaled al-Rahal, who did more than any other Iraqi artist