The three-day state visit was prepared to the millimeter. King Charles III and Queen Camilla are expected in France from Wednesday September 20 to Friday September 22. This first official visit abroad of the son of Elizabeth II as king will above all be punctuated by symbols which will mark the transition with the figure of the sovereign who died in September 2022. Follow our live stream.
>> Transition, “wink”, “warm relationship”… These symbols around the visit of King Charles III to France
Arc de Triomphe and descent of the Champs-Elysées. Upon their arrival in Paris, Charles III and Camilla will rekindle the flame of the unknown soldier under the Arc de Triomphe. Then, aboard a Citroën DS 7 convertible, the royal couple, accompanied by President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, will descend the Champs-Elysées.
Reception at the Palace of Versailles. The two couples will be expected at the Palace of Versailles. Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron will arrive at 7:55 p.m. and Charles III and Camilla 8 p.m. in the royal court at the red carpet level. They will first attend a brief concert by Swedish violinist Daniel Lozakovich in the royal chapel and then reach the Hall of Mirrors via the row of the King’s Grand Apartment. Some 160 guests are expected.
Blue lobster and Bresse poultry in the Hall of Mirrors. The table will be set in the prestigious Hall of Mirrors and the meal served in Sèvres porcelain. The starter, entrusted to three-star chef Anne-Sophie Pic, will consist of blue lobster and crab cake with a veil of fresh almonds and a dash of mint-rooster gel. The main course must be prepared by the three-star chef Yannick Alléno: the royal couple will taste Bresse poultry with a corn flavor garnished with a porcini mushroom gratin. Master cheesemaker Bernard Antony, a reference for many Michelin-starred restaurants, will play on the Entente Cordiale: he will offer a 30-month Comté and a Stichelton, a 100% English blue cheese. For dessert, pastry chef Pierre Hermé will pull out all the stops with his Ispahan rose macaroon biscuit, redesigned for the occasion.
Speech to the Senate, construction site of Notre-Dame then passage to Bordeaux. After this busy first day, Charles III must deliver a speech to the Senate. He will then visit the Notre-Dame construction site and the flower market on the Île de la Cité, a place cherished by his mother. On Friday, the royal couple is due to travel to Bordeaux, where 39,000 Britons now reside.