France’s President Macron and Brigitte Macron will undertake a state visit to the UK this week, starting on Tuesday. This visit has been on the books for months, and for months, we’ve heard that Prince William and Kate will play some kind of “major” role in the visit. Well, late last week, Buckingham Palace confirmed a lot of details about what will happen during the state visit and how King Charles and Queen Camilla plan on laying out the red carpet for their guests. Play a little game I like to call “Notice Who Is Not Being Included For Certain Events.”
The Princess of Wales will play a significant part in next week’s state visit to the UK by President Emmanuel Macron of France, Buckingham Palace has confirmed. Catherine, 43, who spoke openly this week of the challenges she has faced as she recovers from cancer treatment and finds her ‘new normal’, will – as first revealed by the Daily Mail last week – take a starring role by greeting the French leader and his wife, Brigitte Macron, as they land in London on Tuesday along with her husband, Prince William. The couple, who are undertaking the role on the King’s behalf, will then accompany them by car to Windsor Castle, around 15 miles away.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will be waiting for their visitors in Berkshire and formally welcome the Macrons on a Royal Dias at Datchet Road as a Royal Salute is fired in the castle’s Home Park and at the Tower of London. The President and Mrs Macron will then join The King and Queen, and the Prince and Princess of Wales, in a carriage procession through the town to Windsor Castle. Catherine’s glamorous presence is sure to delight the crowds that will inevitably gather to watch the spectacle.
Outlining details of the high-profile visit which the King is hosting on behalf of the British government, Buckingham Palace today revealed that on arrival in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle, a Guard of Honour will give a Royal Salute and the regimental Band will play the French and British National Anthems. The President, accompanied by The King, will then inspect the Guard of Honour, before rejoining The Queen and Mrs Macron together. With The Prince and Princess of Wales, the entire party will then view the military Rank and March past.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, The King and Queen will lead their guests into the castle for a private lunch in the State Dining Room, for which they will be joined by other members of the Royal Family. Afterwards Their Majesties will invite The President and Mrs Macron to view a special exhibition of items relating to France from the Royal Collection in the Green Drawing Room.
In the afternoon, the French President and his wife will travel to London to visit Westminster Abbey to lay a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, and take a short tour of the Abbey church. They will also visit Parliament where President Macron will address MPs before holding meetings with the leaders of all major political parties.
The Macrons will then return to Windsor, where they are staying, to prepare for a glittering State Banquet in St George’s Hall. The visit is being hosted at the 1,000-year-old castle because of major refurbishment work at Buckingham Palace. The last time such a visit was held there was more than a decade ago, in 2014. But sources said it will be no less special, and that the history and relative intimacy of Windsor makes for a stunning backdrop.
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 will also show President Macron the Windsor Castle Gardens, including areas of work on nature restoration and biodiversity, as well as the wider Great Park.
I will continue to point this out: when Charles was Prince of Wales, he often took a lead role alongside his mother for state visits. He and Camilla would host visiting leaders and dignitaries at Clarence House, and/or Charles would be called upon to take the visiting guests to various sites or events. It sounds like the sum total of William and Kate’s “starring role” in this state visit is… picking up the Macrons from the airport, bringing them to Windsor and watching a parade. And that’s it. They don’t even say if William and Kate are invited to lunch after the parade! Which reminds me of something I forgot to note several weeks ago – remember the big Order of the Garter ceremony in Windsor, the one attended by Kate? Apparently, she wasn’t invited/didn’t go to the private lunch hosted by Charles and Camilla after the ceremony either.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- A service for the Most Noble Order of the Garter is held in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on Monday, 16th June 2025,Image: 1011411862, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Editorial use, commercial use may require additional licenses. We don’t use AI to make images which could be mistaken for news photos. AI use will be clearly indicated. Supplied on condition you ensure personal data is processed in compliance with DPA2018, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Tony Kershaw / SWNS/Avalon
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- The Princess of Wales during a visit to the RHS’s Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital in Essex. The visit coincides with the donation of 50 Catherine’s Rose plants, named after the princess by the RHS with funds from sales going to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Picture date: Wednesday July 2, 2025.,Image: 1017655843, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Stefan Rousseau/Avalon
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- The Princess of Wales during a visit to the RHS’s Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital in Essex. The visit coincides with the donation of 50 Catherine’s Rose plants, named after the princess by the RHS with funds from sales going to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Picture date: Wednesday July 2, 2025. PA Photo.,Image: 1017656825, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Stefan Rousseau/Avalon
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- The Princess of Wales during a visit to the RHS’s Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital in Essex. The visit coincides with the donation of 50 Catherine’s Rose plants, named after the princess by the RHS with funds from sales going to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Picture date: Wednesday July 2, 2025. PA Photo.,Image: 1017657072, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Stefan Rousseau/Avalon
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- The annual Order of the Garter Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle Featuring: The Prince and Princess of Wales Where: Windsor, United Kingdom When: 16 Jun 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Members of the British Royal Family at the annual Order of the Garter Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle Featuring: Catherine Princess of Wales Where: Windsor, United Kingdom When: 16 Jun 2025 Credit: Cover Images
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- Members of the British Royal Family at the annual Order of the Garter Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Windsor, United Kingdom When: 16 Jun 2025 Credit: Cover Images
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- Members of the British Royal Family at the annual Order of the Garter Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle Featuring: William, Prince of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Windsor, United Kingdom When: 16 Jun 2025 Credit: Cover Images
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- The Princess of Wales during a visit to the RHS’s Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital in Essex. The visit coincides with the donation of 50 Catherine’s Rose plants, named after the princess by the RHS with funds from sales going to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Colchester, United Kingdom When: 02 Jul 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Kate will talk about the new normal for years which includes lots of vacations. And of course those school runs. Is she going to the banquet.
They’re so careful about mentioning Kate in the first part of that article & so vague about who might be attending the lunch or banquet that I’m going to guess no.
Kate will ride in a car AND a carriage. My goodness, so exhausting! I hope it will not compromise her Wimbledon visit. Thankfully she’ll be on holiday right after.
Wonder if she can exit the car without flashing the public in front of the guests this time..
😂 not bloody likely. If she turns up, she’ll have to flash as her usual “glamorous” self. As is, I am half-expecting her to do a Royal Ascot and bail.
The Rottweiler will turn up in Dior.
Why should she even try not to flash? They didn’t invite her to anything but the wagon ride. Waity might as well milk it for all it’s worth and show her ass.
How many ‘events’ will this rack up for her in the annual count? The airport meet & greet, one; carriage ride, two; military review, three. Is that it? Oooh, how many outfits will this entail? Just the one? Tsk, tsk.
Wow , that’s a massive role , sitting in the car AND a carriage with them .
There should be a book written about this major event .
Will she even attempt to speak French with the Macrons? Or will they have to decipher her unintelligible English while she waves her hands around, on the carriage ride?
Her last video talking about cancer had subtitles on twitter 😁 😁good luck to the Macrons 🤣🤣🤣
Kate is so not glamorous. She will make those faces again . I wonder if she’ll pull another getting out of car photo stunt
So glamorous she will have to get her favourite photographer Chris to capture her best side and photoshop it.
Wow , that’s a massive role , sitting in the car with them .
There should be a book written about this major event .
Heatwave expected this week so a ride in a bumpy carriage maybe be much too much to be endured at the last moment.
Oh dear. Yes, I’d bail out too. Who’d want to be in the heat?
I expect a fainting spell if she does turn up so she can have another excuse to not do anything for the rest of the year. Where are the smelling salts?
Keep hydrated Lazy!
It’ll be a picture book.
I think the better question should be is will she actually show up?
50/50
Isn’t she supposed to appear at Wimbledon as well?
Wimbledon AND a state visit. How exhausting!
I don’t think she has a choice after the stunt she pulled at Ascot.
What an excruciating day for the Macrons. Although it seems they have something in common with the Wails at the moment in relation to “keeping up appearances”.
They certainly have an awkward drive past photographers, the domestic violence gives them something in common. Perhaps Mme Macron and William can share tips.
“No, no, you can’t use your hands unless you have privacy. The Cambridge way does require you to disappear from public view, Brig!”
Will’s teeth will be a shiny yellow and he’ll be rocking an ill fitting suit — while Kate will have an out of control and too long wig with unblended rogue. They will be quite a sight to behold.
They’re usually excluded from things of this nature to some degree. I wonder if Charles health has worsened?
Charles wants to get the lazy ones to work . He appears,to have energy to host.
Can you imagine Lazy hosting a state visit and trying to speak in French?
How mediocre the left behinds will appear then!
Harry got a Spanish speaker, Willy got the unaccomplished social climbing mattress.
Considering both W+K attended very expensive schools, and French is taught as standard at UK schools, they should be able to speak at least basic conversational French. And it would win them some diplomatic points. If they can’t manage that, it’s pretty unimpressive – but that’s what we’ve come to expect from this no-effort pair.
Hey @Blogger,
I think about as highly of K as you do, but in this rising misogynistic culture, I don’t think we should call other women mattresses (or sluts, whores, etc). I’m fine with the social climbing moniker, though! 😆
No, this has become the standard for them for state visits – to be part of the official welcoming committee. And it should be standard! They should be very involved in state visits like this.
But this just sounds like they’re riding in a car and then a carriage and then kate has to go to Wimbledon.
The P and PoW are a fancy Uber, at this point.
I never knew picking up someone from the airport is a “starring role.” But my favorite part is, “Catherine’s glamorous presence is sure to delight the crowds that will inevitably gather to watch the spectacle.” Judging by the recent lack of crowds, there’s nothing inevitable here.
She was booed at the trooping
Booed at Trooping? *cackle*
Absolutely love that for her.
Are the Waleses being sent for the pickup because Cluck and Cloppy are still going to be arguing over which wines to serve at the luncheon and the State dinner? Cloppy does enjoy a full trough of vino to herself, as she’s demonstrated in France…
…and Australia…
…and Italy iirc…
Wishful thinking, Eurydice! There will be probably “Not my King” protestors as well.
To be clear I meant wishful thinking by the BM and RF.
I can see crowds just bc Windsor is such a tourist hot spot so you will probably have people out and about anyway who will just stop to watch the procession. I don’t see anyone going out of their way to see Kate in another coatdress and hat.
That’s exactly what ‘will gather for the spectacle’ sounds like to me. You’re out & about in Windsor, taking in the scenery, & hear the carriages approaching. Ooh, what’s that? And walk over, shopping bags in hand, to see what’s happening.
I’m going to guess that Kate is not going to be at the banquet.
It will be insult to injury if Huesa is excluded but Ford Fiesta is allowed to park herself at the table.
It seems notable thar she’s missed the food related events since the disappearance.
Is it food related events or tiara events?? When was the last time we saw Kate in a tiara?
It seems both. Official lunches and tiara events.
I’ve noticed this, too. It feels notable to me as well.
If it’s Crohn’s or IBS, couldn’t she just eat a specially prepared meal? Or does she not want to be seen eating a specially meal in public?
@Me at home: As disdainful as these people seem to be about illness or mental health issues, I cannot see them preparing a gluten-free meal just for Kate.
The article really seems to dance around that point, doesn’t it?
I dont think its bc its a food related event. the lunch will be private and no one is tracking what she eats, same with the state dinner (although not private.)
it does make me wonder if she can’t be “on” for that long. She can do meet and greets that are very structured but that’s about it.
Agree. It seems like any conversation that may be longer or more in-depth is avoided. Anything more than structured and prepared sound bites.
and it makes me think that she was confirmed for Ascot that particular day and thats why Carole was also there – to help manage her.
I wonder if she has a problem with her digestive tract and doesn’t know how it will react to food each time and she may need to dash off to the toilet.
That very well could be. I wonder what they’ll do when Trump has his state visit. Bc I’m guessing he’s gonna want Willian and Kate there.
Not showing up to a tiara event might relate to the silence about whether or not Kate has a family order from Charles.
We know Camilla got the first one and then Anne and Sophie wore theirs at the state banquet with South Korea. The rota were silent on whether or not Kate was given one as well. So we can assume she did not or else they would have said so.
I think more of this has to do with Charles being pissed at her for how last year was handled when he was and is still dealing with cancer treatment himself.
@sunnyside
I was just wondering the same thing. Maybe she has UC or Crohn’s disease, and had a portion of her small or large bowel resected and has dumping syndrome as a result. It’s plausible.
I think if it was about food and her illness the palace would have come up with a better excuse.
For example last year, when she missed the Qatari state dinner, we were specifically told it was NOT related to health issues. but that would have been such an easy excuse – the whole “her recovery is unpredictable” would have made more sense before she announced being in remission. but maybe they couldn’t use that bc they announced it a few days in advance? But they could have just sent Becky English out to explain that Kate tired easily and a state dinner was too much or something.
but they didn’t. and its starting to look really obvious that she’s missing these events.
I wonder if she might still have her stomach bag and she doesn’t want it filling after she eats? She can get a fresh one right up against her skin before an event but if it involves food, then she either can’t eat or risks her bag filling up.
I think last year they said she had an early years mtg or something? Which was funny bc it obviously would not have been a night mtg. So yeah I don’t tend to think it’s food related. It could simply just be that Charles does not want her there. And that they don’t trust her to carry on conversation for any extended amounts of time, especially when it cannot be fully stage managed.
I do think it’s starting to look odd that she’s apparently kept away from eating events. Would be interesting to know what that’s all about.
“After eating, individuals with IBS or Crohn’s disease may experience a range of digestive symptoms. These can include abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea, bloating, and increased gas.”
It looks like she is out of the family, but because she is the only reasonably palatable one the need to parade her around at public facing events to keep press interest. How sad.
She’s not palatable to me. She can dress up but she is the mean girl who made Meghan like miserable.
Hmmm…. She couldn’t sit in the carriage for ascot so she cancelled. Will she do that again? I mean they are only doing the pick up and drop off so maybe she will feel “unwell” and cancel last minute but if they do go will they be late? You know they each come from different places where they separately live.
I recall reading that little side note about K not going to the lunch after the Garter service. Hmmm. Honestly, I wonder why they keep sending her out to greet dignitaries when she’s botched the last two in a row (either flashing or medicated to the hilt).
Is Brigitte going to thwack her husband in public again because we don’t want our Kate copying vulgar ways? Although Kate was more than happy to advance aggressively on her SIL in public so maybe brawler Brigitte and Kate can swop boxing techiques?
Lazy will be relieved if Brigitte decks Emmanuel again. Anything to avoid scrutiny.
Isn’t it strange that Kate’s fans love to post the video clip of that lunge as a win for Kate? As if trying to menace someone in public is a good kind of look.
I didn’t realize they posted it as a win. Those aren’t fans. Bc true fans would want to bury that vid bc it makes Kate look real bad. Mean and aggressive.
Ha-I guess WandK are sooo good performing the school pickups, they were deemed perfect for the Macron pickup tasks!
😂😂😂
The school run but make it welcoming!!
Since when is picking up people at the airport and riding in a carriage an important role in a stste visit? William and Kate are not invited to the luncheon and state banquet. Charles and Camilla don’t want them to be focal points of this visit, but they need to be because William will have to take the lead when it’s his turn on the throne. And there’s the chance the Not My King crowd will out in protest; Kate may get booed again. The BM needs to repoet that because it will be captured on someone’s camera phone and uploaded on social media.
I believe William attended the garter luncheon just as he attended the state banquet without Kate.
I suspect the issue of being invited relates only to Kate and not William. I circle back to my theory that Charles (and Camilla) are the ones excluding Kate from events.
Considering that Charles has blanked her a few times now that’s a fair guess. To me, a tiara event is like Wimbledon. If anything Kate would probably like to do the state dinner as opposed to the carriage ride meet and greet. They said you’re getting in dang carriage this time.
The Wales are no better than the Kardashians. No public service. Just show up and look “glamorous” and maybe flash some leg.
@Me at home flashing their ignorance and vulgarity at the same time! Tant pis!
At least Kim Kardashian has helped some wrongly imprisoned people. Not exactly sure what W/K have done to help anyone. I think Grenfell is still waiting for that return visit from W.
What happened about the fridge?
Has the King issued the royal command for Kate to attend? What is the posh equivalent of “WORK BITCH!?”
Something like: “The peasants are paying for you to be seen my dear so one must be seen”. In my best upper class English.
Hate to say it but if these idiots want anyone to pay attention to this visit they do need to stick a tiara on Kate’s head and some big rocks around her neck. Unless one of the macrons decks the other in the middle of dinner it would be a big yawn for the press otherwise. Not saying Kate would really add anything to the procedures but they do need some pretty princess money shots because the Rottweiler alone won’t get the job done.
Just cut that flippin’ hair’!!!
If she wanted to make a splash, she would turn up to welcome the Macrons with a chic bob. But her depressing hair seems to be her security blanket.
And @Eurydice, I was struck by the same line about “Catherine’s glamorous presence” delighting the inevitable crowds. She’s not glamorous, and only the protesters seem inevitable these days.
She looks better when she puts her hair up.
I did notice that she had it longer after Meghan left royal duties and began growing hers once she was in CA. I thought Catherine looked best with it a bit below shoulder-length, which is how she had it when she was pregnant with Louis.
It appears that the “next in line” as a custom are the designated airport greeters in monarchies for state visits. Charles for decades met visiting heads of state at the airport and escorted them meet the Queen. Why does the press make such a big deal of William, who is now the Prince of Wales, inheriting Charles’s former role? Really, Wills and Kate end up looking like children who need a pat on the head each time they can be cajoled into doing their jobs.
William is such a pathetic asshole that it’s embarrassing to watch and listen to him! He was born as a future king, it would seem that he is valued and will focus on developing in this direction. And he behaves as if he broke out of some godforsaken hole and did everything to exist and squeeze into high circles. In Boston, he chased after this Biden like an idiot. He begged for a 4-minute meeting in the parking lot, and the British media blindly threw triumphant headlines: “High-level meeting”, “Prince William after fruitful talks with the President of the United States”, etc. Only Biden only shook his hand, asked why he didn’t have a coat (W was probably counting on the president taking it with him to the meeting) and entered the building, and poor, frozen William was left in the empty parking lot;)) It was pathetic and humiliating. He keeps shouting: ME, ME, I did it, I came up with it, it was MY idea (the joint flower walk with HM was Charles’ order, but William told the journalist three times “it was my idea”), and the louder he shouts and tells the media to write about it, the more we know that it’s not his ideas, nor his work, nor any meetings at the UN, just walks under the building:) The guy is embarrassing himself terribly on the international stage
Harry is a diamond compared to him.
Yep, they’ve been assigned the airport run. Love that for them! And after the introductory parade & military review, that’s it. Buh-bye! Nothing that requires one on one interaction, like the standard ‘let’s show you what we stole from your country’ portion of the visit, or the meals. Neither one of these two, Kate or William, is capable of small talk.
You’d think they’d want Kate along for the “let us show you the art and artifacts we stole from France” part of the visit. As @BeanieBean said, that’s on the schedule. I guess they figured she’d have nothing to add and wouldn’t bother studying up beforehand either.
OMG these comments are on fire today, thank you ladies for giving me loud cackles on a trying Monday. No notes, nothing to add, you are so damn funny and I am HERE FOR IT ❤️❤️❤️
“glamorous”
Sorry but Kate’s racism, visible to the public at QEII’s funeral, has drained positive reactions from the young woman as far as the American audience is concerned.
It’s certainly looking less and less like starring roles, isn’t it?
I wonder at what point palace courtiers and (then-Prince) Charles realised William was simply not up to this task of behaving like a good monarch in training? In his uni days, I’d imagine. Charles *did* have to step in and force him to finish his degree.
In any case, it seems clear the King does not trust William and Kate not to make asses of themselves, and he’s quite right in this thinking.
What’s interesting is that this seems to suggest that both William and Kate will not be at the state dinner. Maybe William will be there idk. Bc before wasn’t it just Kate that missed the state dinners?
I suspect they are not saying anything so that it’s not obvious that kate isn’t going.
Apart from Sophie and Edward, London’s billionaires were not at St. Paul’s Cathedral to commemorate the victims of the July 7, 2005 attacks.
Twenty years ago, four Islamist attackers killed 52 people when they detonated explosives in the subway and on a bus. 770 people were injured.
For me, it is an absolute disgrace when a head of state or his direct representatives do not take part in such a ceremony in a church setting.
A carriage ride and a banquet seem to be much more important.