On the second day of a visit that has seen him call for closer connections between the nations, King Charles III on Thursday follows in his mother Queen Elizabeth II’s footsteps by addressing parliamentarians in the French upper chamber of parliament.
Charles made an appeal for France and the UK to rekindle their relations at a spectacular royal banquet late on Wednesday. French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated Charles’ remarks.
King Charles to address French Senate after urging stronger France-UK ties
King Charles III on Thursday follows in his mother Queen Elizabeth II’s footsteps by addressing lawmakers in the French upper chamber of parliament on the second day of a visit that has seen him urge stronger ties between the countries.
At a lavish state banquet late Wednesday, Charles issued a call for France and the UK to reinvigorate their relations, in comments echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron.
It is “incumbent upon us all to reinvigorate our friendship to ensure it is fit for the challenge of this, the 21st century,” Charles said in a toast.
Macron added that “despite Brexit… I know, your majesty, that we will continue to write part of the future of our continent together, to meet the challenges and to serve the causes we have in common”.
“Our relations have of course not always been entirely straightforward,” Charles said, in a speech in both English and accented but clearly-spoken French that impressed his hosts.
However, he offered a positive assessment of the Entente Cordiale, the 1904 agreement between the two neighbors, referring to it as a “sustainable alliance”.
