PSNI Detective John Caldwell who survived murder bid attends garden party with King and Queen

Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell attended a garden party in Co Down with King Charles and Queen Camilla. Credit: PA

A senior detective who survived a murder bid has attended a garden party in Co Down with King Charles and Queen Camilla.

The event was the first time Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell has been pictured in public since the attack attributed to dissident republicans earlier this year.

It is understood that he had a private audience with the King ahead of the event.

The Queen spent some minutes speaking with Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell during the event.

DCI John Caldwell.

Mr Caldwell was seriously injured after he was shot several times at a sports centre in Omagh, Co Tyrone in February after coaching a youth sports team.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was also among the guests at the garden party at Hillsborough Castle. Credit: PressEye

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is also among the guests at the garden party at Hillsborough Castle in Co Down, the royal residence in Northern Ireland.

It came on the first day of a visit by the King and Queen to Northern Ireland.

It is their first visit outside England since the coronation earlier this month.

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