EXCLUSIVE Revealed: The real reason French first lady Brigitte Macron has looked so frosty during the State Visit to the UK
The 72-year-old lost her sister Anne-Marie Trogneux last week but still accompanied her husband, President Emmanuel Macron, to the UK.
This key background information provides an explanation for her demeanour which has been described by commentators variously as 'awkward' and 'frosty'- particularly when she appeared to ignore her husband's outstretched hand on landing.
'This is the main reason Ms Macron has been looking so subdued and uncomfortable with her husband, a source close to the couple told us today. Madame Macron adored her sister, and the loss has affected her greatly.'
'But she agreed that it was her duty to be in the United Kingdom, despite it coinciding with a period of mourning.'
Eyebrows were immediately raised when the Macrons touched down at RAF Northolt, in Greater London, on Tuesday.
Ms Macron appeared to ignore her husband as the couple were greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
It followed shocking video footage of Ms Macron appearing to slap the President's face when they touched down in Hanoi for a state visit to Vietnam in May.
The Macrons, who have been married since 2007, both denied any domestic abuse in their relationship, instead attributing the violence to a minor squabble.
But the current turmoil is mainly linked to the passing of Anne-Marie Trogneux – the first lady's oldest sister at 93 and one she viewed as a mentor.
A second piece of context informing her mood is that Ms Macron has also been under stress over an imminent court case in which four alleged trolls will go on trial for allegedly cyberbullying the first lady.
The process – scheduled to start on Thursday – will highlight numerous malicious accusations, including ones linking Ms Macron with paedophilia.
Anne-Marie died in the family's home town of Amiens, northern France, which is also where Mr Macron was born and brought up.
Ms Macron, the youngest of six children, rushed to be with her sister before she died, in the early hours of last Thursday, July 3.
It follows Ms Macron losing another sister, Maryvonne Trogneux, in a car crash in 1961, when she was just 27.
Ms Macron also lost a brother, Jean-Claude Trogneux, at the age of 85, in 2018.
The Macron marriage has always been subjected to hurtful speculation because of its unusual beginnings.
It was in 1992, when the future president was a schoolboy at La Providence high school Amiens, that he first developed deep affection for his drama teacher, the then 40-year-old Brigitte Auzière, who was married with three young children.
Some claim the relationship became a dangerously irresponsible one – allegations both parties have always denied – but Ms Macron later admitted that being romantically linked 'with such a young boy was crippling,' especially in a close-knit, Romant Catholic community.
She spoke of the rumours her own boy and two girls – one a classmate of young Emmanuel – had to deal with, saying: 'You can imagine what they were hearing. But I didn't want to miss out on my life.'
Emmanuel Macron was briefly sent to study in Paris by his concerned parents – both doctors – but he always told Brigitte: 'Whatever you do, I will marry you.'
The couple finally wed in 2007, a decade before Mr Macron sensationally came from nowhere to win the French presidency as an independent candidate.
Mr Macron's sexuality became an attack point for political enemies, with some claiming Ms Macron was a 'cover' for a secret gay life.
Mr Macron rejected such allegations, telling supporters his wife 'shares my whole life'.
The latest tension comes as four male defendants prepare for their cyber-harassment trial at the Paris Correctional Court, after being accused of likening Ms Macron to a child abuser.
The process will focus on 'numerous malicious comments about Brigitte Macron's gender and sexuality, as well as her age difference with her husband which have seen her likened to a paedophile,' said a spokesman for Paris prosecutors.
He added: 'On August 27, Brigitte Macron filed a complaint for cyberbullying, an offense punishable by two years of imprisonment.'
Among the accused is Aurelien Poirson-Atlan, a 41-year-old known on social media as 'Zoe Sagan', where he spreads multiple conspiracy theories.
His posts also include one saying Ms Macron was born as a boy called Jean-Michel Trogneux in 1953.
This is in fact the name of Ms Macron's brother, and she was called Brigitte Trogneux before her first marriage.
The defendant also claimed that Brigitte's first husband, André-Louis Auzière, had never actually existed before his reported death in 2020, aged 68.
There are three other defendants in the trial, and all deny the charges.
Juan Branco, defence barrister for Poirson-Atlan, said the prosecution was 'taking an obvious political direction.'
He said it was particulalry outrageous that his client was being kept on remand for what amounted to a published matter of 'free speech opinion'.
In September last year, two women were also ordered to pay €8000 (£6900) in damages to Ms Macron after falsely claiming she was transgender, in a now-deleted YouTube video.
The transphobic rumours about Ms Macron were picked up by the far-Right in 2022, while President Macron was campaigning for re-election.
The current Macron state visit to France continues until Thursday, when the President and first lady will return to Paris.
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