France’s President Macron and Brigitte Macron will undertake a state visit to the UK this week, starting on Tuesday. This visit has been on the books for months, and for months, we’ve heard that Prince William and Kate will play some kind of “major” role in the visit. Well, late last week, Buckingham Palace confirmed a lot of details about what will happen during the state visit and how King Charles and Queen Camilla plan on laying out the red carpet for their guests. Play a little game I like to call “Notice Who Is Not Being Included For Certain Events.”
The Princess of Wales will play a significant part in next week’s state visit to the UK by President Emmanuel Macron of France, Buckingham Palace has confirmed. Catherine, 43, who spoke openly this week of the challenges she has faced as she recovers from cancer treatment and finds her ‘new normal’, will – as first revealed by the Daily Mail last week – take a starring role by greeting the French leader and his wife, Brigitte Macron, as they land in London on Tuesday along with her husband, Prince William. The couple, who are undertaking the role on the King’s behalf, will then accompany them by car to Windsor Castle, around 15 miles away.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will be waiting for their visitors in Berkshire and formally welcome the Macrons on a Royal Dias at Datchet Road as a Royal Salute is fired in the castle’s Home Park and at the Tower of London. The President and Mrs Macron will then join The King and Queen, and the Prince and Princess of Wales, in a carriage procession through the town to Windsor Castle. Catherine’s glamorous presence is sure to delight the crowds that will inevitably gather to watch the spectacle.
Outlining details of the high-profile visit which the King is hosting on behalf of the British government, Buckingham Palace today revealed that on arrival in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle, a Guard of Honour will give a Royal Salute and the regimental Band will play the French and British National Anthems. The President, accompanied by The King, will then inspect the Guard of Honour, before rejoining The Queen and Mrs Macron together. With The Prince and Princess of Wales, the entire party will then view the military Rank and March past.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, The King and Queen will lead their guests into the castle for a private lunch in the State Dining Room, for which they will be joined by other members of the Royal Family. Afterwards Their Majesties will invite The President and Mrs Macron to view a special exhibition of items relating to France from the Royal Collection in the Green Drawing Room.
In the afternoon, the French President and his wife will travel to London to visit Westminster Abbey to lay a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, and take a short tour of the Abbey church. They will also visit Parliament where President Macron will address MPs before holding meetings with the leaders of all major political parties.
The Macrons will then return to Windsor, where they are staying, to prepare for a glittering State Banquet in St George’s Hall. The visit is being hosted at the 1,000-year-old castle because of major refurbishment work at Buckingham Palace. The last time such a visit was held there was more than a decade ago, in 2014. But sources said it will be no less special, and that the history and relative intimacy of Windsor makes for a stunning backdrop.
On the morning of the second day of the State Visit, The President and Mrs Macron will privately visit St George’s Chapel, Windsor, to lay flowers on the Tomb of Queen Elizabeth II. The King will also show President Macron the Windsor Castle Gardens, including areas of work on nature restoration and biodiversity, as well as the wider Great Park.
I will continue to point this out: when Charles was Prince of Wales, he often took a lead role alongside his mother for state visits. He and Camilla would host visiting leaders and dignitaries at Clarence House, and/or Charles would be called upon to take the visiting guests to various sites or events. It sounds like the sum total of William and Kate’s “starring role” in this state visit is… picking up the Macrons from the airport, bringing them to Windsor and watching a parade. And that’s it. They don’t even say if William and Kate are invited to lunch after the parade! Which reminds me of something I forgot to note several weeks ago – remember the big Order of the Garter ceremony in Windsor, the one attended by Kate? Apparently, she wasn’t invited/didn’t go to the private lunch hosted by Charles and Camilla after the ceremony either.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
