At Buckingham Palace this morning Sir Alexander Hardinge asked me to convey to Mr. de Valera the following personal message from the King.

The King wished to say how gratified he was on receiving Mr. de Valera's personal message which I had transmitted a few days ago.

His Majesty joined with Mr. de Valera in the sincere feeling of satisfaction that so real an improvement in the relations between the two peoples had been achieved by this recent settlement of certain outstanding questions.

It was his hope that this new era might soon lead to conditions under which it would be possible for Mr. de Valera to visit him without compromise or embarrassment. Subject only to his wish to avoid any difficulty to Mr. de Valera the King, for his part, would be glad to see him anytime.

In conveying the King's thanks I was to assure Mr. de Valera that His Majesty fully understood that no personal consideration had entered into his decision not to pay a visit at present.