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Charles III has successfully crossed the Channel from Britain to France this week, marking a significant milestone after his first state visit as king was postponed last-minute due to rioting and strikes six months ago.
The rescheduled three-day trip to Paris and Bordeaux, led by the 74-year-old British head of state and accompanied by his wife, Queen Camilla, who is 76 years old, is set to commence this Wednesday. The itinerary remains largely unchanged from March.
The schedule includes formal ceremonial events featuring President Emmanuel Macron, whose controversial pension reforms earlier this year sparked civil unrest. Additionally, there are plans for informal gatherings with the public.
The royal couple, along with President Macron and his wife, Brigitte, will receive an official welcome at the Arc de Triomphe. They will also participate in a solemn wreath-laying ceremony as a mark of remembrance, followed by a procession along the grand Champs-Élysées avenue.
The French leader and the First Lady will graciously welcome Charles and Camilla for a state banquet at the magnificent Versailles Palace, located to the west of Paris and historically associated with French royalty, as well as the pivotal republican revolution of 1789.
Another noteworthy event on the agenda is a significant address, most likely delivered in French, by Charles to lawmakers at the Senate.
Many of the scheduled activities revolve around topics championed by both couples, including environmental sustainability, literacy promotion, and youth entrepreneurship.
Furthermore, there are scheduled meetings with local communities and sports stars in the northern Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, which is home to the national stadium and will serve as the venue for next year’s Olympic Games.
In Bordeaux, the southwestern city historically presided over by Charles’s 12th-century ancestor, Henry II, and still home to approximately 39,000 British expatriates, he will embark on a tour of an organic vineyard and engage with firefighters who are combatting wildfires exacerbated by climate change.
– Political Harmony –
On both sides of the Channel, this visit is being presented as a celebration of the enduring ties between these two neighboring nations. It marks a significant moment as politicians work to mend fences following the acrimony and disagreements surrounding Brexit.
Relations have not been this amicable since the UK’s departure from the European Union. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson had frequently engaged in disputes with France, ranging from disagreements over fishing quotas to trade regulations for sausages.
At one juncture, under Johnson’s leadership, the UK even briefly deployed two naval vessels to the Channel Islands, which are self-governing British Crown dependencies situated off the French coast, in a tense standoff related to fishing licenses.
Johnson’s short-lived successor, Liz Truss, made little effort to improve relations, once remarking, “the jury’s out” when asked about Macron’s status as a friend or foe, despite their shared membership in G7 and NATO.
However, Rishi Sunak, the current occupant of Downing Street, has cultivated a more amicable rapport with his Elysée counterpart. Both Sunak and Macron have financial backgrounds and a penchant for sharp attire and effective social media presence.
In the context of the British constitutional monarchy, recent monarchs have generally upheld a strict stance of political neutrality. Nonetheless, politics invariably seeps into state visits, and Charles’s current trip is no exception, serving as a follow-up to Sunak’s recent friendly overtures and harnessing the power of “soft diplomacy.”
Renowned royal historian and author Ed Owens described state visits as “the trump card of diplomacy,” transcending momentary party politics. This is particularly pertinent given lingering tensions between London and Paris regarding migrant crossings from northern France to the UK. Owens, whose new book “After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?” was released recently, suggested that informal diplomacy might be at play during the visit. However, the broader objective is to project Charles as an environmentalist monarch of international renown.
Following a first year marked by stability and continuity rather than radical reform, the visit exemplifies a “business as usual” approach to royal diplomacy. The French public will witness a familiar British monarchy in action, albeit with Charles presenting himself as a somewhat more personable figure. Nevertheless, the essence of the monarchy remains rooted in the tradition of Elizabeth II.
Charles and Macron have previously met, most recently at the king’s coronation in May, where they are reported to have shared a warm relationship. Macron’s tribute to Charles’s mother upon her passing in September of last year was well-received in the UK. During her state funeral, he extended an open invitation for the new king to visit France.
The initial postponement of the visit in March led the king and queen to embark on a trip to Germany, visiting Berlin and Hamburg instead.
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© Agence France-Presse
