Topics: Emmanuel Macron, Royal Family, UK News, Politics, Kate Middleton, Prince William
King Charles III and Queen Camilla broke a major royal tradition as they welcomed Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte to the UK for a state visit today (8 July).
The British monarchs greeted the French president and first lady as they touched down for their three-day trip to the English capital.
They arrived in style on a specially constructed Royal Dais near the town’s Windsor and Eton Riverside train station, with the castle in the backdrop.
The King and Macron travelled together in a carriage towards Windsor Castle as hundreds of fans lined the streets with the hopes of getting a glimpse of them.
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And the red carpet treatment didn’t stop there as nearly 400 military personnel from the Army, RAF and Royal Navy lined the High Street along the ceremonial route and a 41-gun salute sounded in nearby Home Park in Macron’s honour to mark his arrival.
Earlier in the morning, Kate Middleton and Prince William first met with the Macrons and accompanied them to the Berkshire town after welcoming them at RAF Northolt in west London and joining them for the 14-mile car journey.
However, the tradition in question that’s been broken is that the visit is taking place at Windsor Castle, rather than the usual location of Buckingham Palace.
This is especially unusual since it's the first state visit to the UK by an EU head of state since Brexit.
But the reasoning is simply because of the ongoing refurbishments at the London residence, making it the first state visit to be held at Windsor in over a decade.
The last state visit that took place at Windsor was in 2014 when the late Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh welcomed Irish President Michael D. Higgins.
As the official website of the Royal Family states, the palace's electrical cabling, plumbing and heating have not been updated since the 1950s, so it’s in dire need of an upgrade.
The building's infrastructure is in ‘urgent need of a complete overhaul to prevent long-term damage to the building and its contents’.
So, the palace is currently in the middle of a phased programme of works that’s set to go on for ten years. It started in 2017 and should hopefully be finished by 2027.
While the building is still occupied and operational, no state visits will be held there until the reservicing work is complete.
Macron is set to address parliamentarians in the Palace of Westminster’s Royal Gallery later this afternoon and, on Thursday, he will join a UK-France Summit at Downing Street.
The French leader and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are set to announce plans for French police to do more to block small boats crossing the Channel, according to The Guardian.
Downing Street said on Monday that the UK’s relationship with France was ‘key’ to dealing with boat crossings, following reports French police officers had used knives to puncture a boat off the coast.
