The Prince and Princess of Wales will play a major role when France’s President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron travel to the UK for a state visit on Tuesday.
Prince William and Kate, both 43, will greet the Presidential couple at RAF Northolt as they arrive, and travel with them to Windsor.
There will then be a formal welcome from the King and Queen at the Royal Dais on Datchet Road, Windsor as a royal salute is fired in the Home Park in Windsor, and at the Tower of London.
The President and Mrs Macron will join the King and Queen, and the Prince and Princess of Wales in a carriage procession through the town to Windsor Castle.
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William with the Macrons last December
A ceremonial welcome will be staged in the castle’s quadrangle with Camilla, William, Kate and Mrs Macron watching as the King and President Macron inspect the Guard of Honour.
Lunch will be hosted in the State Dining Room, after which the president and his wife, the King and Queen and members of the royal family will view a special exhibition of items relating to France from the Royal Collection in the Green Drawing Room.
Mr and Mrs Macron will also travel to London on Tuesday afternoon to see the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey, visit the Palace of Westminster where the French leader will address parliamentarians in the Royal Gallery, and meet opposition leaders at Lancaster House.
Will Kate attend the state banquet?
A glittering state banquet will then be held at Windsor Castle on Tuesday evening, where the King and the President will both deliver speeches.
Kensington Palace has not yet confirmed whether the Princess of Wales will participate in the banquet.
Kate, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2024 and confirmed she is in remission from the disease at the start of this year, last made an appearance at a grand royal dinner 20 months ago in November 2023 in honour of the South Korean president.
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William and Kate at the South Korea state banquet in 2023
She took part in the daytime elements of the Qatar state visit last December, but was absent from the white-tie state banquet.
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Kate at the ceremonial welcome for the Qatar state visit in 2024
Earlier this week, the Princess opened up about the “really difficult” phase after cancer treatment, its life-changing impact and putting on a “brave face”.
What else can we expect?
On the morning of the second day of the state visit, the President and Mrs Macron will privately visit St George’s Chapel, Windsor, to lay flowers on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II.
The King, who is the Ranger of Windsor Great Park, will invite the President to tour the Windsor Castle Gardens, including areas of nature restoration and biodiversity and the wider Great Park.
© Chris Jackson, Getty
The state visit will take place at Windsor Castle
And in a personal touch, the King and Queen will, on Wednesday, take the Macrons to see Fabuleu de Maucour, a ten-year-old grey gelding which Mr Macron gifted to known horse-lover the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 in celebration of her Platinum Jubilee.
Fabuleu de Maucour belonged to the largely ceremonial French Republican Guard and was trained to carry the standard-bearer.
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The King and Queen with the Macrons during their state visit to France in 2023
Wednesday will also see the President and Mrs Macron join Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Lady Starmer for lunch at Downing Street, ahead of a UK-France summit at Number 10 on Thursday.
The French state visit to the UK, from 8 to 10 July, is the first to be hosted at Windsor Castle, rather than Buckingham Palace, in more than a decade since that of the Irish president Michael D Higgins in 2014.
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