Queen Camilla, King Charles III, President of France Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron pose at the Elysee Presidential Palace on September 20, 2023. Photo / Getty Images
Queen Camilla, King Charles III, President of France Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron pose at the Elysee Presidential Palace on September 20, 2023. Photo / Getty Images
If the King’s state visit to France was designed to rejuvenate the “entente cordiale” – to inject a little bonhomie into Franco-British relations post-Brexit – it can only be deemed a success.
From cries on the streets of “Vive le Roi” to lengthy standing ovations in the senate, Charles has deployed that all-important royal soft power to great effect.
No one observing the two men’s bromance this week could fail to note the mutual respect and warm regard they hold for each other.
Behind the tactile displays, the eye contact and the laughter lies shared passions and admiration. Many such smiles are put on for the cameras. These ones were not.
Similar was the rapport between the Queen, 76, and first lady Brigitte Macron, 70; two women of a certain age, thrust into the limelight due to the men they fell in love with. Both have also had a rocky ride with the press.
Emmanuel Macron and the King's bromance was on full display. Photo / Getty Images
As Camilla took her seat for a discussion with domestic abuse victims at Saint Denis town hall, just outside Paris, on Thursday, she scanned the room for Mrs Macron. “Oh, there she is,” she smiled. “You are right behind me as usual.”
And indeed she was. There was Mrs Macron carefully fixing Her Majesty’s Dior cape before they posed for photographs on the red carpet at the Palace of Versailles, taking her hand to help her down the steps at the Elysee and giggling with her at the launch of a literary prize.
This new Franco-British literary prize was first mooted during a UK-France summit in March, a “brilliant opportunity” to harness both women’s deep interest in literature and to bring them together.
The trip had been many months in the making. Originally planned for March, it was postponed at the eleventh hour as civil unrest gripped France over Mr Macron’s pension reforms.
As such, Germany was awarded the honour of His Majesty’s first state visit, leaving France forced to trail in its wake – the “difficult second album”, as one aide quipped.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla do some wine tasting during a visit to Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte to learn about sustainable vineyard practices in the Bordeaux wine-producing region. Photo / Getty Images
“Germany was a hard act to follow,” said a royal source. “Obviously the first tour was going to be a source of great fascination.
“But France has excelled itself, not just in scale and the splendour but in the undeniably positive reception, both ceremonial and amongst the people that have turned out to meet them.”
Palace aides, working closely with a large British embassy team, devised a programme designed to reflect a broad snapshot of French and British life.
From the razzle dazzle of celebrities on the red carpet to football stars and market stallholders, the King and Queen shook hands with them all.
Charles may be careering towards 75 but his relentless work ethic means his itinerary is always jam-packed, with engagements crammed in from dawn till dusk. This trip was no different, leaving frazzled aides and exhausted photographers trailing in his wake.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla share a joke with Emmanuel Macron, President of France and Brigitte Macron, during a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral. Photo / Getty Images
His two speeches – one at the Palace of Versailles during a state banquet and one at the senate – both went down a storm, each peppered with affectionate references to his late mother and his own devotion to a nation he said had been “an essential part of the fabric of my own life”.
At the senate, he ploughed on full throttle with a passionate appeal for the two countries to stand shoulder to shoulder in redoubling their efforts to save the planet, to prevent the “catastrophic destruction of nature”.
The speech could have plunged the green King into controversial waters as he treads a fine line between “highlighting” and “campaigning”. But the carefully worded address – written as it was with the close co-operation of the Government – struck the right note and was broadly welcomed.
The King’s friendship with Mr Macron is often considered to be based on their shared interest in the environment but it is also one that has developed over many years.
Britain's King Charles III and French President Emmanuel Macron making a toast during a state dinner in the Hall of Mirrors at the Chateau de Versailles in Versailles, west of Paris. (Benoit Tessier/Pool via AP)
When Notre Dame went up in flames in April 2019, the then Prince Charles was straight on the phone to the Elysee, telling the president he was “heartbroken” and regaling him with tales about the fire that engulfed Windsor Castle in 1992, what had been learned and how they had managed to rebuild.
Two months later, as they marked the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth, Charles caught Mr Macron looking at all his military medals and decorations.
The president would later recall: “With the very British humour that characterises him, he said to me: ‘This is what happens when you wait a very long time at the steps of the throne.’”
A British diplomatic source said: “It’s a relationship between two leaders based, in part, on the incredible relationship between our two countries but also stems from other things.”
Queen Camilla and King Charles III are welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron prior to a state dinner at the Chateau de Versailles on September 20. Photo / Getty Images
A poll by conservative newspaper Le Figaro found that some 62 per cent of the French approved of the welcome Mr Macron rolled out for Their Majesties, while around 65 per cent said they had a “good opinion of the King” – a respectable score if below his late mother’s high of 85 per cent.
Around half of those questioned said they disapproved of the lavish dinner held at Versailles on Wednesday evening.
But a mini-row fuelled by the Left and National Rally over the supposed indecency of holding such a gala when ordinary citizens were finding it hard to make ends meet failed to land a punch.
The paper hailed the King’s senate speech as an “ode to Franco-British friendship”, while Le Parisien said Charles had clearly “captured the hearts of France”. As the King and Queen retire to Balmoral for a much-needed rest, they will surely be pleased with that.
