King Charles III ‘chooses France for first state visit’

‘To you, she was your Queen. To us, she was The Queen,’ declared France’s president Macron in a heartfelt and touching tribute, following the death of Her Majesty. In the evening, the lights of the Eiffel Tower were dimmed, as France joined the world in mourning the loss of a great leader. Later, Macron revealed on Twitter that he had ‘a phone conversation’ with Charles III, during which he ‘expressed France’s condolences on the death of the Queen’. It’s clear that the relationship between Macron and the Royal Family is one of veritable warmth.

And it is exactly this relationship which has caused a rustle of anticipation and excitement in corridors of power over recent weeks. Describing their relationship as a ‘long friendship’ between the two men, The Telegraph revealed today that the King plans to make France the surprise choice for his first state visit. ‘I had the opportunity to invite King Charles to come to France when it is appropriate for him’, Mr Macron said as he confirmed that he had issued an invitation to the King to visit France. Choosing France for the first state visit over a Commonwealth country would be an unexpected turn of events. Whilst it is not set in stone, the anticipated visit would come as Britain attempts to build bridges following Brexit.

Royal biographer and author of the best-selling ‘The Queen’, Matthew Dennison tells Tatler, ‘For the President, the King isn’t coloured by toxic political issues that have threatened to divide Britain and France, especially Brexit and its fallout: theirs can be a relationship that potentially transcends their governments’ politics. The King will have taken pleasure in the President’s responses to the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Afterwards, her death had a warmly personal dimension. Macron’s description of Elizabeth II as The Queen, his decision to give a televised tribute in English rather than French, and the dimming of the lights on the Eiffel Tower are richly symbolic gestures.’