Latest news with #UKFranceRelations
Sky News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
King to host President Macron on first state visit - and why it's such a big deal
The King will host French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife this summer on their first state visit to the UK. Buckingham Palace announced the president has accepted the King's invitation and will visit from 8-10 July. Mr Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, will stay at Windsor Castle. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said a UK-France summit will happen during their visit "to grow our economies, safeguard borders and bolster our security". State visits are grand ceremonial affairs and usually include a carriage ride and a lavish state banquet. It will be the first state visit of a French president since March 2008, when Nicolas Sarkozy was invited by the late Queen. He also stayed at Windsor Castle. The Macrons hosted King Charles and Queen Camilla on a state visit to France in September 2023. It was meant to be his first state visit as monarch but was postponed due to protests, and he visited Germany, then Romania, ahead of France. The King and Queen were also hosted by Mr Macron in June 2024 when they attended events to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, but that was not a state visit. The following month, Charles was seen greeting the French president at the European Political Community meeting at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. King's bromance with Macron Trumps US president's state visit Rhiannon Mills Royal correspondent @SkyRhiannon The offer of a state banquet is a big deal. They are seen as the ultimate diplomatic gift that the United Kingdom can give, as we quite literally roll out the red carpet for countries we really want to keep on side. It's why there was so much debate about Trump being given his second and Sir Keir Starmer seeming in such a rush to extend the invitation. But after reports last month that Emmanuel Macron may get a state visit first, it has now been confirmed that the French President and his wife will be heading to Windsor Castle before the US President. It will be Macron's first state visit, but his bromance with King Charles goes way back to when he was Prince of Wales, particularly spending time together on events related to the environment. But this is more than just the King inviting round an old friend. It shows that, as well as wanting to stay in Trump's good books, Europe also remains a priority for the government. We have seen it recently, with Prince William deployed to Estonia and the King and Queen sent to Italy. A state visit for Macron reinforces that message of friendship, as international relationships have been turned on their head by the American visitor, who will also potentially be heading through the gates of Windsor Castle sometime soon. 0:58 Charles, 78, was diagnosed with cancer early last year and has been continuing his duties while undergoing treatment. The King is due to host US President Donald Trump after Sir Keir Starmer gave him an invite in February, but a date for the trip has not yet been announced.
LBCI
13-05-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
King Charles to host France's Macron for July state visit to UK
King Charles III is to host French President Emmanuel Macron on a state visit to the UK from July 8-10, the French presidency and British monarchy announced, in a new step towards strengthening relations after Brexit. Macron will also hold talks with British Premier Keir Starmer during the trip, which follows the state visit by Charles to France in September 2023. The king and Queen Camilla will host Macron and his wife Brigitte at Windsor Castle, the British royal family said on its official social media account. AFP
Al Arabiya
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
King Charles to host France's Macron for July state visit to UK
King Charles III is to host French President Emmanuel Macron on a state visit to the UK from July 8–10, the French presidency and British monarchy announced, in a new step toward strengthening relations after Brexit. Macron will also hold talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the trip, which follows the state visit by Charles to France in September 2023. The king and Queen Camilla will host Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at Windsor Castle, the British royal family said on its official social media account. Charles's state visit to France in 2023, which saw him deliver an address to Parliament in French and attend a glittering state banquet thrown by Macron at the Palace of Versailles, was widely regarded as a success that helped boost relations. There were severe political tensions between Paris and London in the immediate aftermath of Brexit under the previous right-wing Conservative British government, with both sides also unable to find a strategy to halt the perilous small boat crossings across the Channel between the countries. But there has been a new warmth in relations under the center-left Labour government led by Starmer, with the British premier and Macron now leading European efforts to find a just peace for Ukraine. The importance of the France–UK relationship was again in evidence at the weekend when Starmer and Macron, joined by new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, traveled by train to Kyiv for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Buckingham Palace says French President Macron has accepted invitation for state visit in July
Charles and Queen Camilla traveled to France in September 2023 in a visit that underscored Britain's aim to bolster ties with its closest European neighbor. The trip came after years of sometimes prickly relations strained by Britain's exit from the European Union and by disagreements over the growing number of migrants crossing the English Channel on small boats.
