William Molinié / Photo credits: CAMERON SMITH / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
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07:55, September 05, 2023
His visit to France was canceled in March due to protests related to pension reform. The first official visit of King Charles III, as sovereign of the United Kingdom, will finally take place from Wednesday 20 to Friday 22 September. Several recognitions by the security services took place this Sunday and continue this Monday.
But according to information from Europe 1, the royal program has been significantly lightened. Starting with the duration of this visit reduced to three days, against four, initially planned. The trip to Bordeaux will also be shortened and Charles III will have less time to meet French entrepreneurs.
A speech in the Senate
Nevertheless, still according to information from Europe 1, the sovereign will go down the Champs-Elysées in a motorcade surrounded by motorcyclists and a cavalry regiment. Previously, he will have rekindled the flame of the tomb of the unknown soldier under the Arc de Triomphe, alongside Emmanuel Macron. A State dinner will be reserved for him at the Palace of Versailles from the first evening.
The next day, the King of England will go to the Senate to deliver a speech. As for the queen consort, Camilla, she will visit the national library of France in the company of Brigitte Macron. The royal couple will also take advantage of the Rugby World Cup, organized in France from September 8 to October 28, to take a trip to Saint-Denis at the Rugby Village, before heading to the Flower Market on the Ile de la Cité, a place that Queen Elizabeth II was particularly fond of.
A trip to Bordeaux by train
A walkabout and a stroll with the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, are planned. The next day (Friday September 22), Charles III will take the direction of Bordeaux, by train, because the sovereign is very attached to the carbon footprint of his crown. A trip that will take place under close surveillance, because police and gendarmes will have to, throughout the course, ensure the protection of the successor of Elizabeth II. This journey at a run will end at 6 p.m. on the tarmac of Mérignac airport, from where the king will return to England.