For the platinum jubilee of Elizabeth II, the Head of State offers one of the Republican Guard horses, named Fabuleu de Maucour.
Quartier des Célestins in Paris, May 24, headquarters of the Republican Guard. One of the 470 horses of the cavalry regiment is on its thirty-one. Checkerboard on the rump and harnessing weapons, he performs a few tricks in the Battesti carousel, a heritage treasure with an Eiffel-type metal frame. In a few days, he will leave the country, a gift from France to Queen Elizabeth II for her Platinum Jubilee. A decision by Emmanuel Macron. For the 70 years of reign of the “Queen” – who, with five state visits, made France, outside the Commonwealth, one of the most visited countries – the Head of State wished to offer the exception to this great horse lover.
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Other presents, including a saddle and a saber from the Republican Guard, will accompany him and Emmanuel Macron will preside on June 2, the first day of the festivities, the flame rekindling ceremony under the Arc de Triomphe alongside Menna Rawlings , British Ambassador in Paris.
Among the gifts, the weapon harness (the saddle, the bridle, the net, the halter) and the sword.
© Manuel Lagos Cid/ Paris Match
“The flagship horse of the cavalry of the regiment”
Offering a Republican Guard horse is a rare gesture. We remember Vesuvius from Brekka, given to the Chinese president in 2018. This time, the animal is called Fabuleu from Maucour. 7-year-old Selle Français, from a breeding in the Meuse, he has a gray coat that distinguishes him and makes him suitable for the standard and his escort. “It is the flagship horse of the cavalry of the regiment”, insists General Éric Bio Farina, saluting the equestrian culture of Great Britain and the royal family.
Here on May 8, 2022, Fabuleu de Maucour is standard bearer.
© Pauline Decoster
The gelding performed its first service as a standard-bearer on the Champs-Élysées on May 8. “I wanted a wise horse, representative of the regiment, which would please the Queen, explains Colonel Gabriel Cortès, also passionate. I understand that she is very fond of gray horses. I’m sure nothing can make him happier.”
The Battesti carousel is not unknown to the Queen. In 2004, accompanied by her husband Prince Philip and Bernadette Chirac, she followed with a wise eye a performance of the Cadre Noir de Saumur, which had taken up residence at the Célestins. The prestigious squires had already performed in front of the sovereign in 1972.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, accompanied by Bernadette Chirac, in April 2004 attended a performance of Saumur’s Cadre Noir in the Célestins district.
© NIVIERE/VILLARD/ASLAN/SIPA
More recently, the Republican Guard showed its skills to its daughter, Princess Anne, who visited Paris in October. Emeritus rider, selected for the Olympic Games, she told them to ride horses every morning at 5 a.m. Finally, in mid-May, several riders from the Republican Guard were invited to take part in the Royal Windsor Horse Show, an exceptional equestrian show at Windsor Castle.
After a twelve-hour ferry trip, accompanied to the end by his partner, Fabuleu de Maucour will be the property of the Queen. It must be handed over to Windsor Castle on Wednesday June 1, presented on the grounds of the Royal Guard Regiment (Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment), twinned with the Republican Guard. This one will therefore not be without having regular news.
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