UK

King and Queen to meet sporting stars during rescheduled state visit to France

File photo dated 27/06/23 of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The King has written a letter to US President Joe Biden saying he and the Queen were “utterly horrified” to hear about the “catastrophic” wildfires in Hawaii. Issue date: Saturday August 12, 2023.
File photo dated 27/06/23 of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The King has written a letter to US President Joe Biden saying he and the Queen were “utterly horrified” to hear about the “catastrophic” wildfires in Hawaii. Issue date: Saturday August 12, File photo dated 27/06/23 of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The King has written a letter to US President Joe Biden saying he and the Queen were “utterly horrified” to hear about the “catastrophic” wildfires in Hawaii. Issue date: Saturday August 12, 2023.
By Tony Jones, PA Court Correspondent

The King and Queen will meet sporting stars during their rescheduled state visit to France which launches the men’s Rugby World Cup this weekend.

Charles and Camilla’s trip later this month will see the couple attend an event highlighting the benefits of sport for young people, and they will be joined by well-known faces from rugby, boxing, table tennis and football.

The Prince and Princess of Wales will be in the stands this weekend to cheer on England and Wales as the rugby tournament starts.

King’s state visit to France postponed
King’s state visit to France postponed Charles with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Cop26 summit (Jane Barlow/PA)

Kate, patron of the Rugby Football Union, will watch England take on Argentina in a group match on Saturday in Marseille and the following day William, patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, will watch Wales compete against Fiji in Bordeaux.

Charles and Camilla’s three-day overseas tour to Paris and Bordeaux originally planned for March, was to be the first state visit of Charles’ reign, but days of violent protests across France, against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms, forced the trip to be postponed.

Germany, the second leg of the March trip, became the historic first destination for the royal couple.

The majority of the royal programme has been retained but a few new elements have been added for the state visit from September 20-22, including Camilla and the president’s wife Brigitte Macron launching a new Franco-British literary prize at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.

Duchess of Cornwall visit to Paris – Day Two
Duchess of Cornwall visit to Paris – Day Two Camilla during a previous visit to the Louvre Museum in Paris (Chris Radburn/PA)

Britain’s ties with France were described as an “absolutely massive relationship, both government to government and people to people” by a senior official from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

Significant events from the visit include Charles and Camilla joining their French hosts Mr Macron and his wife for a ceremony of remembrance and wreath laying at the Arc de Triomphe.

Afterwards the foursome will be part of a procession down the Champs Elysees towards the Elysee Palace, the French president’s official residence, where Charles and Mr Macron will sit down to talks.

The King will be the first British monarch to give a speech from France’s senate chamber, to senators and national assembly members.