(L-R) French President Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s King Charles III, Queen Camilla and Brigitte Macron attended a welcome ceremony on Tuesday in Windsor for the Macron’s three-day state visit to Britain. Photo By Andy Rain/EPA
French President Emmanuel Macron was welcomed Tuesday in London by Britain’s King Charles III for a three-day state visit in the first since 2008 by France’s leader.
Macron and his wife, Brigitte, were greeted at RAF Northolt in west London by William and Catherine, the prince and princess of Wales, before meeting Charles and Queen Camilla in Windsor town centre after a horse-drawn carriage procession through the streets.
It marked the first state visit by a European Union leader since “Brexit” in 2020 and a renewal of diplomatic relations with Britain’s former EU member states.
At Imperial College London, the French entourage will see examples of tech innovation, artificial intelligence, while the official state visit highlights advances in science.
“We expect to make good progress on a wide range of priorities, including migration, growth, defense and security, which will deliver on the interests of both the British and the French public,” a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the BBC.
On Tuesday, British lawmakers and peers will hear Macron, 47, when he gives a speech to parliament.
Macron called the visit “an important moment” in the rich history between the two neighboring Western European nations.
The Macrons and the royal family will gather Tuesday night for a state banquet at Windsor Castle, where Britain’s head of state is expected to give his own remarks about the “shared history and culture between our two peoples.”
In prepared text, Charles, 76, will warn of present-day risks “emanating from multiple directions” and other issues that “know no borders” from which “no fortress can protect us.”
He will state that France and Britain must stand united in the face of a “multitude of complex threats” and will issue warnings over defense threats, technology and ongoing threats of global climate change.
“For centuries our citizens have admired each other, amused each other, and imitated each other,” the king’s speech will read in part. “Our two nations share not only values, but also the tireless determination to act on them in the world,” it adds.
Macron and the Labor Party leader Starmer, 62, will touch on a number of issues during Macron’s visit, such as stopping small boats from crossing the English Channel, which Downing Street said Britain’s relationship with France will be “key” to addressing that and other topics.
The British government has indicated a desire to reset diplomatic relations post-Brexit with its neighboring nations, still in the EU.
Meanwhile, Macron on Wednesday will visit a horse that he gave to the late Queen Elizabeth II on her 2022 Platinum Jubilee to mark her 70th and final year on the throne as the longest-reigning monarch in British history, just prior to her death later that year.
France’s first couple are also set to visit the tomb of the late queen at Windsor during their stay.
Charles and Camilla visited France in 2023 for their own state visit where the king got a standing ovation after his speech to France’s senate.
