Lots of pomp, symbolism and all the ceremony the French Republic is capable of: French President Emmanuel Macron received King Charles III and Queen Camilla with honors on Wednesday, September 20, the first day of a 72-hour state visit to France by the British monarch. This visit, the first during his reign to France, was originally scheduled for March but was postponed due to the protests that accompanied the adoption of the pension reform. Its main purpose was to showcase the closeness and friendship between France and the UK, as ties between the two countries have been strained by Brexit.

After arriving at Orly – he had flown in from the UK for security reasons – 74-year-old Charles III joined the French president at the Arc de Triomphe to rekindle the flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to the sound of bagpipes, while Queen Camilla struggled to keep her pink fascinator in check in the gusty winds. After meeting a select audience of veterans and students from a Franco-British school – onlookers had been kept at a safe distance and the Champs-Elysées emptied – the king and his host planted an oak tree in the gardens of the British Embassy, then retired for a tête-à-tête at the Elysée Palace, with the Union Jack flying from the pediment.

The two men also exchanged some very appropriate protocol gifts. The King opted for a complete edition of Voltaire's Letters on the English; Macron presented an original edition of Romain Gary's The Roots of Heaven, a plea for the protection of the planet, a well-known interest of the British monarch. Macron and his guest finished the day with a sumptuous dinner in the Hall of Mirrors at the Château de Versailles, attended by 160 guests including Mick Jagger, Hugh Grant, Charlotte Gainsbourg, the CEO of the luxury goods group LVMH Bernard Arnault, and much of the French government.

Between two toasts, Charles III recalled the first trip to Paris by his parents, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II, who died a year ago. It was 1948; they were newlyweds and had danced into the small hours to the songs of Edith Piaf. "Maybe that's why 'La vie en rose' remains my favorite song," he quipped, before more seriously praising the entente cordiale between France and the UK. "This is an enduring alliance, whatever the future may hold, may it endure faithful and constant for centuries," the monarch commented. "Despite Brexit, I know that we will continue to help write the future of our continent together, to meet the challenges and serve the causes we have in common," Macron replied.

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