Queen jokes with Sinn Fein politician Martin McGuinness that she's 'still alive'

The Queen responded in a matter of fact way to Mr McGuinness asking how she was

The Queen had an unexpected answer for the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland after he asked how she was.

At a meeting at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland on Monday, Sinn Fein politician Martin McGuinness greeted the Queen by asking if she was well. Her reply? “Well, I’m still alive."

This year the Queen reached the milestone age of 90, which she acknowledged to Mr McGuinness telling him her two birthdays have kept her quite busy. Earlier this month, the Queen officially celebrated with the Trooping of the Colour parade, a street party on the Mall and a service at St Paul’s Cathedral.

On Friday, after the results of the EU referendum became apparent, Mr McGuinness called for a border poll on a united Ireland after Northern Ireland voted in its majority for Britain to remain a member of the European Union. This result was at odds with the rest of the UK which voted to leave the EU by 52 per cent.

Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, who turned 95 this month, are visiting Northern Ireland on a two-day trip. While there, they will visit the Giant’s Causeway, unveil a statue of a County Antrim WW1 soldier and travel on the picturesque Coleraine-to-Londonderry line - which she unveiled in 1953.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.