Move over Starmer: It’s the King Charles and Macron show

LONDON — Britain and France may not have the greatest track record when it comes to peace and amity, but Emmanuel Macron is about to be showered with love from the very top. 

Nobody does pomp and circumstance quite like the British. Macron — who arrives in the U.K. for a state visit Tuesday — will be treated to the works: a royal salute before a carriage procession to Windsor Castle. That’s not to mention the regimental band, guard of honor and state banquet being laid on for the French head of state.

The lavish royal welcome is being deployed to make a clear point — namely, that U.K.-French relations are back on track after years of Brexit bad blood, while offering the two main protagonists a chance to publicly demonstrate their friendship. 

The monarch and the French president have a long-standing and close relationship. Macron visited Charles as prince of Wales, and the pair discussed their shared interest in climate diplomacy.

The king is no stranger to sending a well-planned political signal, and can be expected to hail the two countries’ progress toward resetting post-Brexit relations, their continued support for Ukraine and their shared goals on climate change.

And with Macron approaching the final years of his time in office, the trip represents a chance for the French president to project his power on the world stage — as well as offer a subtle reminder of what the alternative to him could be.

That makes it very much the Charles and Macron show.

One former British diplomat, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said it was fortunate U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer “doesn’t really have an ego,” clearing the way for the king and the president to make the big diplomatic moves this week.

Cross-Channel lovefest

The king’s love for France is well-known, and the French establishment seems to love the king back. 

Charles has continued in the tradition of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who visited France frequently and met every French president from Vincent Auriol to Macron. The king has made more than 35 official visits to the country since the 1970s, speaks French fluently, and received Macron several times when he was prince of Wales.

For his part, Macron made one of the most memorable tributes given by any international political figure after the queen’s death, saying: “To you, she was your queen. To us, she was THE queen.” 

Flags on official buildings in France were flown at half mast and the French president went to the British Embassy in Paris to sign a book of condolence. While he is staying at Windsor, Macron will pay a private visit to Elizabeth’s tomb.

The Macrons threw a star-studded banquet at the Palace of Versailles, and for the Champagne toasts that night served Pol Roger “Sir Winston Churchill” 2013. | Christophe Petit Tesson/EFE via EPA

This show of support did not go unnoticed in Buckingham Palace, according to officials in Paris.

Both sides were sorely disappointed when Charles was forced to cancel his first state visit as king in March 2023 because of social unrest in France and were determined to make the most of it when he eventually attended that September.

The Macrons threw a star-studded banquet at the Palace of Versailles, and for the Champagne toasts that night served Pol Roger “Sir Winston Churchill” 2013. 

When Charles addressed the French Senate during that visit, he said: “France has been an essential part of the fabric of my own life for as long as I can remember.” The speech, delivered largely in French, earned him a standing ovation.

Peter Ricketts, former U.K. ambassador to the France, said that Macron “gets on very well with the king — there’s really a genuine relationship there, based on lots of talks over the years on climate change.”

Menna Rawlings, the serving British ambassador to France, said in advance of the visit that it would be a “significant moment” for the two nations, with the “quite rare” honor “normally reserved for the most important bilateral relationships.”

Charles’ choices

While the full might of the royal household will be activated to show how much Britain and France have in common, Charles’ words will still be closely watched for any hints about where he thinks the two allies have further to go. 

The same former diplomat quoted above said officials would be tuned in for any mention of backing for Ukraine or Starmer’s “reset” of relations between the U.K. and the EU.

“Look at what the king has done on Canada and on Ukraine without saying a word,” they observed, referring to his recent show of solidarity with the British Commonwealth nation and with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the face of Donald Trump’s disfavor. 

Charles’ biographer Robert Hardman pointed out that a state visit would not be the place for “anything specific about particular country’s policies,” but the king’s speeches always contain “a sort of general point about the importance of looking after the planet.”

On this point, the two men may be on less comfortable territory than usual. They have bonded over their belief in environmental protection in the past, with Macron seeing himself as the custodian of the Paris climate accord. The French president is now, however, pushing for the rollback of some EU-wide decarbonization targets.

The stickier stuff — such as continued wrangling over how to tackle illegal migration, and a host of EU-wide issues such as touring rights and youth mobility — will be left to Macron’s audience with Starmer.

They have bonded over their belief in environmental protection in the past, with Macron seeing himself as the custodian of the Paris climate accord. | Pool photo by Ludovic Marin/EFE via EPA

The British prime minister, like Macron, may be all too keen to absorb himself in the trappings of an international summit at a difficult moment in his premiership. While the British prime minister struggles to push through planned cuts to public spending and tax rises loom, Macron’s government is struggling to get any legislation passed by a paralyzed parliament.

In recent months, the French president has pivoted more and more toward the international stage, holding conversations with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Trump and other world leaders, with conflicts in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East top of his agenda.

Macron used to rule supreme in French politics but now sees his interventions in national politics challenged, even by his allies.

When he dressed down a minister last week, one of Macron’s former ministers warned that such a move might expose him. “If his orders don’t produce any effects, it will illustrate his total powerlessness,” the former minister said.

Whether for reasons of celebrating friendship or avoiding domestic woes, nobody will be in a rush to leave the banquet table this week.

Annabelle Dickson and Anthony Lattier contributed to this report.