UK Royals to visit France this month, meet Rugby World Cup athletes

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
6 Sep 2023 23:10

King Charles and Queen Camilla will attend a banquet at the Palace of Versailles where they will meet Rugby athletes.

Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla look on as Emmanuel Macron, the French President, makes a speech at Carlton Gardens in London, on June 18, 2020. (AP)

On a state visit to France later this month with the queen, King Charles will give a speech to members of each house of the French parliament and meet privately with President Emmanuel Macron.

Due to France's violent conflicts over pension reform protests, the visit, which was originally scheduled for March, was postponed.

In honor of hosting the Rugby World Cup and preparing to host the Olympics in 2024, the king and queen will attend a formal banquet at the Palace of Versailles where they will mingle with athletes.

During his visit, which takes place from September 20 to 22, King Charles will address senators and national assembly members at the Senate. Also, a Franco-British literary award will be launched at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France by the queen and the president's wife.

The French and British leaders' sustainability reception will be attended by the King and Macron, who will learn more about their investment plans to safeguard biodiversity and address the climate issue.

Visit to celebrate UK-France relations

The royal couple will then head to Bordeaux. The king will meet with first responders and residents of the Bordeaux wildfire-affected areas in 2022 at the Forêt Experimentale, a location set up to track how urban trees are responding to climate change. He and the queen will also meet with members of the French and British armed forces to learn more about their defense cooperation.

The journey will come to a finish with a stop at an organic winery that helped establish a sustainable method of wine production. Both the vineyard's own solar energy production and the carbon dioxide it creates are captured and converted.

"The state visit will celebrate Britain’s relationship with France, marking our shared histories, culture, and values. It will also provide an opportunity to look forwards and demonstrate the many ways the UK and France are working together, whether that be to promote and protect biodiversity, combat climate change, strengthen security and defense ties in response to the conflict in Ukraine, or recognize outstanding cultural achievement," Chris Fitzgerald, deputy private secretary to the king said, adding that "their majesties' visit will include engagements highlighting sustainability and the power of community – key themes of importance to the citizens of both our nations."

It would be an "important" visit, according to a senior Foreign Office official, which takes place in the context of ties that have been "steadily improving" following Rishi Sunak’s Paris summit with Macron.

Commenting on the relationship between France and the UK, Fitzgerald said it had been rearranged so swiftly, thanks to great flexibility on both sides.