King Charles and Queen Camilla to visit France following riots disruption
Published
King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit France next month for a state visit.
The Royal couple should have gone earlier this year.
However, violent street protests over pension reforms suggested the couple’s safety could not be guaranteed.
In Paris graffiti was daubed on a wall reading:
“Charles III, do you know the guillotine?”
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said:
“The visit will celebrate the shared history, culture and values of the United Kingdom and France.”
Their Majesties will visit Paris and Bordeaux from September 20th to the 22nd as they seek to reset UK-European relations post-Brexit.
The programme will be broadly the same planned for the postponed March visit.
The original plans for the tour involved the King and Queen joining Mr Macron and his wife, Brigitte, for a remembrance ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe before processing down the Champs-Élysées to the Élysée Palace.
The King was set to hold a meeting with Mr Macron, addressing politicians at the senate.
Meanwhile, the Queen and Mrs Macron were set to officially open the new Manet and Degas exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay before later attending a state banquet at the Palace of Versailles.
Around 200 guests were to dine in the sumptuous Hall of Mirrors, while a concert by the Royal Opera in the Royal Chapel was also planned.
Dinner was to be served on tableware including Sèvres porcelain, Baccarat crystal and the famous 18th-century bird-themed china set created by Joseph Duplessis, the French painter, for Louis XV.
In Bordeaux, the King was set to see the devastation caused by last summer’s wildfires, meeting emergency workers and members of the local community to hear about their experiences.
The couple were also expected to mark the opening of the British Consulate in Bordeaux and meet members of the local French and British communities before touring an organic vineyard, which has pioneered a sustainable approach to wine making.
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