King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and his wife

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the acc ...

made a

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 20 to 22 September 2023, hosted by the

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

and his wife,

Brigitte Macron Brigitte Marie-Claude Macron (; née Brigitte Trogneux , previously Auzière ; born 13 April 1953) is a French former educator. She is the wife and former teacher of Emmanuel Macron, who is the current President of France and Co-Prince of Andor ...

. It was his first official visit as

British monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...

on French soil and the 36th visit in his life.

Background

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

with her husband

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

, when she was still a princess and pregnant with the current British monarch, had made multiple visits to French soil, whose leaders, including

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...

and others, received her with open arms, for which with her continuous visits, they have strengthened the ties of friendship of their peoples.

Visit

The visit was originally supposed to take place in March but the trip was postponed because of the 2023 French pension reform unrest.

20 September

On 20 September 2023, King Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla arrived at Paris Orly Airport and were greeted by Prime Minister

Élisabeth Borne Élisabeth Borne (; born 18 April 1961) is a French politician who has served as Prime Minister of France since May 2022. She is a member of President Emmanuel Macron's party Renaissance. A civil engineer, government official and manager of sta ...

. The King and Queen drove to

Arc De Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...

where the King inspected a guard of honour of French forces and participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and to the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-prof ...

. The

French Air and Space Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

elite acrobatic flying team

Patrouille de France ), 1st Commandant of the Patrouille de France as of the official Aerial presentation on 14 September 1953, Commander of the 13th Aerial Brigade, World War II Veteran with 165 war missions. , identification_symbol= , identification_symbol_lab ...

and the RAF

Red Arrows The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams ...

performed a flypast following the ceremony. The King joined President Macron for a ceremonial tree-planting in the garden of

Hôtel de Charost Hôtel de Charost is a hôtel particulier located at 39 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris. Since 1814, it has been the official residence of the ambassador of the United Kingdom to France. It is located near the Élysée Palace. History The ...

, the British Ambassador's residence. That evening, the King and Queen attended a state banquet at the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

with 160 people in attendance.

21 September

The King traveled to

Luxembourg Palace The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the ...

where he addressed the

French Senate The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 34 ...

, becoming the first British monarch ever to do so. During the speech, he addressed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, calling it an “existential challenge”. Meanwhile, at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF), The Queen and Brigitte Macron marked the launch of a new U.K.-France literary prize – ‘The Entente Littéraire Prize’ - at a reception attended by notable literary figures from both countries. The event celebrated the importance of literature and the literary connections between the UK and France. In the afternoon, The King and Queen visited Saint-Denis, the home of the Rugby World Cup village, as France hosts the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

and Paris prepares to host the Olympics and Paralympics next year. The visit celebrated the important role sport can play in bringing communities closer together and enriching the lives of young people. Charles and Camilla went on to visit "Le 19M" Campus, accompanied by Brigitte Macron, to learn about the organization's work to promote education, creativity, and inclusion through teaching young people traditional "haute couture" skills such as embroidery, pinning, and producing tweed. The King and Queen later visited a central Paris flower market named after

and met local florists. The market was formally renamed during Her Late Majesty’s visit in 2014. This visit also served as the formal welcome to the city from the Mayor of Paris,

Anne Hidalgo Ana María "Anne" Hidalgo Aleu (, ; born 1959) is a Spanish-French politician who has served as Mayor of Paris since 2014, the first woman to hold the office. She is a member of the Socialist Party. Hidalgo served as First Deputy Mayor of Paris ...

, also known as the "Parchment Ceremony." This was the first time the ceremony has taken place outside of the Hotel de Ville. The King and Queen then visited the

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

. The royal couple and Macron, with his wife Brigitte, spoke with firefighters who assisted in fighting the 2019 fire. The royal couple then traveled to Saint-Denis where they visited local businesses and the

Basilica of Saint-Denis The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...

22 September

The King and Queen ended their state visit in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. They went on to board H.M.S. IRON DUKE, a Royal Navy Type 23 Frigate, for a reception to highlight the defence ties between France and the UK. The King met with emergency workers affected by

wildfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

in the region last year and visited an experimental forest designed to monitor the impact of climate change on urban woodlands. Meanwhile, The Queen visited Le Pain de l'Amitié, a local Bordeaux charity which houses a subsidised supermarket, kitchen and restaurant, and provides low-cost food and necessities to those in the local community who may be in need. It also acts as a hub for local families to connect and spend time together. They also attended a festival in celebration of British and French culture and business at the

Place de la Bourse Place de la Bourse is a square in Bordeaux, France and one of the city's most recognisable sights. Built from 1730 to 1775 along the river Garonne, it was a multi-building development designed by architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel. It is within the hi ...

. The King and Queen ended their State Visit with a tour of Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte to learn about sustainable vineyard practices in the Bordeaux wine producing region.

References

{{France–United Kingdom relations 2023 in international relations 2023 in British politics 2023 in Paris September 2023 events in France

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...