Although you can never be quite certain, it appears that King Charles III of the United Kingdom will finally travel to France for his postponed official visit. It has taken longer than expected by six months. The protests in Paris and other cities forced the king’s trip in March, which would have been his first official overseas tour since ascending to the throne a year prior, to be postponed. Then, even though the events were directed at Monsieur le Président instead of him, they would have seemed a little too reminiscent of 1789 for a crowned monarch.
Now, ideally, the visit will take place when it is less busy. After Germany in March and Romania (where, surprise to most Brits, the monarch has private properties) in June, instead of France being the first stop on Charles’s state visit as originally anticipated, France will now be third. Despite this, the British monarch will receive the full red carpet treatment, including a state luncheon hosted by President Macron, a wreath-laying ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, a speech at the Assemblée Nationale, and a trip to a Bordeaux organic vineyard.
Officially the visit is to mark the two countries’ shared histories, cultures and values, to look forward and demonstrate our shared partnerships over issues such as climate change and the war in Ukraine. There is no doubt that metaphorical bridges need to be built across the Channel since our last two, disastrous, prime ministers, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, willfully chose to exacerbate ancient antagonisms by deriding our closest neighbors. It is an ancient Anglo-French sport but a severely counter-productive one.
The B-word for Brexit is probably not going to be referenced, not least in light of the conventions and shows of a politically impartial government. Relations between the two states seem to have mellowed lately. Since the lord doesn’t settle on his own conclusions about true visits however follows up on Government guidance, it is an obvious indicator that the organization in London is behind schedule attempting to further develop relations with France. Rishi Sunak is a more emollient pioneer than his ancestors, however he actually demands he upholds the choice to leave the European Association (EU) despite the fact that figures show how deplorable and disruptive Brexit has been financially, socially and strategically. Assessments of public sentiment currently show a larger part wishing we’d never left.
