Britain’s King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, are welcomed by French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, left, at the Orly airport, south of Paris, Wednesday Sept. 20, 2023.King Charles III of the United Kingdom starts a three-day state visit to France on Wednesday meant to highlight the friendship between the two nations with great pomp, after the trip was postponed in March amid widespread demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension changes. ( Miguel Medina, Pool via AP)
Britain’s King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, disembark their aircraft at the Orly airport, south of Paris, Wednesday Sept. 20, 2023.King Charles III of the United Kingdom starts a three-day state visit to France on Wednesday meant to highlight the friendship between the two nations with great pomp, after the trip was postponed in March amid widespread demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension changes. Miguel Medina, Pool via AP)
The visit shows “the deep historical ties that unite our two countries. It is also an opportunity to showcase France’s cultural, artistic and gastronomic excellence,” the French presidency said.
At the Arc de Triomphe, both nations’ hymns will be played before a review of French troops and a wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to “mark the shared sacrifices of the past and an enduring legacy of cooperation,” according to Buckingham Palace.
Britain’s King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, are welcomed by French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne at the Orly airport, south of Paris, Wednesday Sept. 20, 2023.King Charles III of the United Kingdom starts a three-day state visit to France on Wednesday meant to highlight the friendship between the two nations with great pomp, after the trip was postponed in March amid widespread demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension changes. Miguel Medina, Pool via AP)
The jet fighters of the Patrouille de France and Britain’s Red Arrows, the acrobatic teams of the countries’ air forces, will fly above the monument.
The presidential and royal couples will then head by car to the presidential palace, parading on the Champs-Elysees avenue.
Macron and Charles will hold a bilateral meeting, because the visit also “symbolizes the relationship of friendship and trust” between them since they both ”have in the past worked closely together to protect biodiversity and combat global warming,” the French presidency stressed.
FILE – France’s President Francois Hollande, left, and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II take part in a ceremony on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, Thursday, June 5, 2014. King Charles III will travel to France on Sept.20-22 2023 for a state visit that was postponed in March due to fears that protesters demonstrating against President Emanuel Macron’s economic policies would disrupt the pageantry. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, Pool, File)
While the U.K. royal family long ago ceded political power to the country’s elected leaders, the monarchy remains Britain’s preeminent ambassadors as presidents and prime ministers jockey to bask in the glamor and pageantry that follows them wherever they go.
FILE – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip are seated in a convertible French-made Citroen SM as they leave the Paris City Hall on Wednesday, June 10, 1992 after meeting with Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac on the second day of the royal couple four-day state visit in France. King Charles III will travel to France on Sept.20-22 2023 for a state visit that was postponed in March due to fears that protesters demonstrating against President Emanuel Macron’s economic policies would disrupt the pageantry. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours, File)
The visit comes amid a recent warming in the French-British relationship after years marked by Brexit talks and related disputes.
A March bilateral summit saw Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak agreeing on strengthening the military ties between their countries and stepping up efforts to prevent migrants from crossing the English Channel.
“We know that the British and French relationship has been difficult at times since 2016,” Ed Owens, a British monarchy historian, told The Associated Press.
FILE – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II holding a bouquet of flowers, and French President Georges Pompidou and wife Claude Pompidou pose after a luncheon given in the Queen’s honor at the Elysee palace in Paris on May 15, 1972. King Charles III will travel to France on Sept.20-22 2023 for a state visit that was postponed in March due to fears that protesters demonstrating against President Emanuel Macron’s economic policies would disrupt the pageantry. (AP Photo, File)
“This move on the part of the British state to send the king to France is about reassuring the people of France, but also the people of the U.K. that this is a relationship of significant important and that it’s is based on history, heritage and that there are many other things in our shared futures that connect us.”
A state dinner on Wednesday in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles in the presence of more than 150 guests will be one of the highlights of the visit.
FILE – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is greeted by French President Jacques Chirac on the Champs Elysees in Paris Monday, April 5, 2004, at the start of the queen’s three-day state visit to France to mark 100 years of formal friendship between France and Britain. King Charles III will travel to France on Sept.20-22 2023 for a state visit that was postponed in March due to fears that protesters demonstrating against President Emanuel Macron’s economic policies would disrupt the pageantry. (Eric Feferberg, Pool via AP, File)
On Thursday, Charles will address French lawmakers at the Senate, providing a new venue for the king to show off his language skills after he wowed his audience by switching seamlessly between German and English during a speech to Germany’s parliament in March.
He will later rejoin Macron in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral to see the ongoing renovation work aimed at reopening the monument by the end of next year.
FILE – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, the wife of Britain’s King George VI, in conversation with French President Albert Francois Lebrun at the Bagatelle Garden Party in France on July 20, 1938. King Charles III and Queen Camilla will visit Paris and Bordeaux from Sept. 20-22, 2023. The visit underscores Britain’s aim to bolster ties with its closest European neighbor after years of sometimes prickly relations strained by Brexit and disagreements over the growing number of migrants crossing the English Channel on small boats. (AP Photo/Len Puttnam, File)
U.K. Ambassador Menna Rawlings, speaking on French news broadcaster LCI, said that Charles was “very sad” after the monument’s spire and roof collapsed in a blaze in 2019. It reminded him of the 1992 fire at Windsor Castle, she added.
FILE – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, center, receives flowers during a visit to the Flowers Market (Marche aux Fleurs) with French President Francois Hollande, in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2014. King Charles III will travel to France on Sept.20-22 2023 for a state visit that was postponed in March due to fears that protesters demonstrating against President Emanuel Macron’s economic policies would disrupt the pageantry. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool, File)
“Of course it’s an incredible moment for him to have the opportunity, with the queen, to look at this (renovation) work and also meet the firemen who were involved,” she said.
Charles and Macron will also both attend a reception for British and French business leaders about financing climate-related and biodiversity projects.
FILE – Queen Elizabeth, centre, the wife of Britain’s King George VI leaves the hospital at Neuilly after her visit, on July 21, 1938. King Charles III and Queen Camilla will visit Paris and Bordeaux from Sept. 20-22, 2023. The visit underscores Britain’s aim to bolster ties with its closest European neighbor after years of sometimes prickly relations strained by Brexit and disagreements over the growing number of migrants crossing the English Channel on small boats. (AP Photo, File)
The king will end his trip on Friday with a stop in Bordeaux, home to a large British community. He will meet emergency workers and communities affected by the 2022 wildfires in the area and visit the Forêt Experimentale, or experimental forest, a project designed to monitor the impact of climate on urban woodlands.
FILE – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, center, walks with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, left, and French President Francois Hollande, during a visit to the Flowers Market (Marche aux Fleurs) in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2014. King Charles III will travel to France on Sept.20-22 2023 for a state visit that was postponed in March due to fears that protesters demonstrating against President Emanuel Macron’s economic policies would disrupt the pageantry. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool, File)
He will also tour a vineyard, which has pioneered a sustainable approach to wine making.
