Charles III finally makes it across the Channel from Britain to France this week, six months after rioting and strikes forced the last-minute postponement of his first state visit as king.
The 74-year-old British head of state’s rescheduled three-day trip to Paris and Bordeaux with his wife Queen Camilla, 76, starts on Wednesday, with the itinerary largely unchanged from March.
It includes set-piece ceremonial events with President Emmanuel Macron, whose unpopular pension reforms sparked the civil unrest earlier this year, as well as more informal meetings with the public.
The royal couple, Macron and his wife Brigitte will be officially welcomed at the Arc de Triomphe and lay wreaths of remembrance before a procession down the sweeping Champs-Elysees avenue.
The French president and first lady will entertain Charles and Camilla at a state luncheon at Versailles, the château west of Paris associated with French monarchy and the deadly republican revolution of 1789.
Other notable events were Charles’ historic speech to the Senate’s legislators, which was probably delivered in French.
Many of the engagements center on causes that both spouses support, such as the environment, sustainability, boosting reading, and encouraging young people to start businesses.
In the Saint-Denis neighborhood in north Paris, which is home to the national stadium and the Olympic Games location for the next year, there are meetings with local groups and sports celebrities.
In Bordeaux, the southwestern city once ruled over by Charles’s 12th-century ancestor Henry II and still home to around 39,000 British expats, he will tour an organic vineyard and meet firefighters tackling climate-induced wildfires.
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