Britain’s king Charles III is set to undertake a state visit to Ireland, with President Catherine Connolly saying he “graciously accepted” an invitation during their meeting in Buckingham Palace in London on Monday.Connolly, on her first official visit to Britain since being elected last November, said she had a “positive and warm” meeting with the British monarch.The President said her meeting with the king lasted just under an hour. Her convoy swept through the main gate of Buckingham Palace shortly after 3.30pm, about 10 minutes after the king had arrived himself in his official vehicle.Speaking at her west London hotel shortly after the meeting, Connolly also said she was “upset and worried” about her sister, Margaret Connolly, who was aboard a Gaza flotilla ship that was intercepted on Monday by Israeli forces.Connolly with Charles at Buckingham Palace on Monday. Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/Pool/Getty Speaking in Irish, she noted that it seemed the flotilla ships had been intercepted in international waters and she said she was proud of her sister, who is a GP in Sligo.Reverting to English, she said “it’s quite upsetting and I’m also very worried about her”.“I’ve been very busy today ... I haven’t really had a chance to get details in relation to my sister and indeed, equally importantly, her colleagues on the boat.”The President was also asked about recent comments made by former taoiseach Bertie Ahern who was secretly recorded saying that he felt there were too many African immigrants coming into the State.“I think we all have to mind our own words. And we ... have to take responsibility for what we say,” she said.[ ‘Lack of housing’ a factor in Irish emigration to UK, says Catherine Connolly on first visit to BritainOpens in new window ]The President met the monarch as part of a three-day trip to England, incorporating Irish cultural centres in London and Leeds as well as a trip to the Chelsea Flower Show.Earlier on Monday, she visited the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London, where she met Irish language learners and gave a speech highlighting the Irish contribution to British society.Later, Irish Ambassador to Britain Martin Fraser and his wife, Deirdre Fraser, will host a reception on Monday evening in honour of Connolly and her husband, Brian McEnery, at the Irish Embassy in London.It will conclude on Wednesday with visits to Leeds University and the Leeds Irish Centre.It is the third official visit the president has undertaken since beginning her term of office, after visits to Northern Ireland and Spain. – Additional reporting: PA