Back in March, King Charles really wanted France to be the first country he visited as monarch. It was supposed to be a grand state visit of France and Germany and some soft-diplomacy between Brexit Britain and the European Union’s two biggest countries. Hilariously, Charles’s planned visit coincided with widespread riots in France and a huge labor strike. Most of the drama was about President Macron, but the protesters had absolutely turned their ire on Charles too, especially regarding the planned dinner reception at Versailles. Those Frenchies were talking about guillotines and what they did to their monarchy. So, Macron postponed Charles and Camilla’s visit and the British papers furiously blamed everything on Macron, despite the fact that French people were directly targeting Charles and planning to protest him specifically. Well, funny story – the state visit has been rescheduled, but Charles won’t even be the main event that week.

The state visit to France by King Charles III that was postponed because of ‘blood and fire’ violent protests is reportedly set to go ahead next month – at the same time as the Pope. French ministerial sources on Monday reported that the King and Queen Camilla will arrive in Paris around September 23rd to 24th. This is also the weekend when Pope Francis is expected in the southern city of Marseille, to be greeted by millions of French Roman Catholics. The Rugby World Cup will also be taking place in major French cities at the time, with all major British sides involved, including England.

Charles and Camilla will first be greeted by President Emmanuel Macron, and his wife, Brigitte Macron, in the French capital, before travelling to the south west city of Bordeaux, sources said.

‘After an official reception at the Élysée Palace, then a dinner at the Palace of Versailles, the royal couple will visit Bordeaux,’ the government source told multiple outlets. He said ‘the British security services’ had cleared both cities after ‘scouting during the month of July.’

[From The Daily Mail]

The fact that the Versailles dinner is still on the schedule is pretty bad. I wonder if they’ve changed up the planning whatsoever? Originally, it was supposed to be a full state dinner and Macron was really going to roll out the red carpet for Charles. Now it sounds like the state visit has been shortened, but they’re still doing the state dinner and Charles is desperate to be feted at Versailles. It’s such a bad look, imo. It’s funny that Pope Franny will also be around, and that France is also hosting a major sporting event at the exact same time.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.