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Today then we will see King Charles and Queen Camilla begin their first State Visit abroad in Germany. Although we know that the dress code for the banquet this evening will be black-tie I really hope that the Queen will follow in the footsteps of her late mother-in-law and bring out a tiara for this kind of event. It doesn't have to be a especially big one, but some glitter would at least lighten up the rather "dull" vision of only black and white.
Today, King Charles III's State visit to France - the first outgoing State visit of his reign - should have started.
Unfortunately, because of the large strikes and demonstrations throughout the country about the pension reform and of the political and social instability in France, enhanced by President Macron's unpopularity, the French Government has decided - even if reluctantly, aware of the negative PR effect of this decision - to cancel the British sovereign's State visit and to postpone it to a later, still unspecified, date.
Understandingly - and wisely, IMO - the French President and Government considered that receiving the King with all the pump and circumstances (including a cortege on the Champs-Elysées from the Elysée Palace to the Arc de Triomphe escorted by the band and the cavalry regiment of the Republican Guard + a State banquet scheduled in the symbolically ultra-monarchical setting of Versailles Palace's Mirror Gallery) would have felt quite odd and provocative in a time of social unrest, while President Macron is already often blamed for his leadership style, perceived by some as authoritarian and contemptuous (sometimes dubbed as "Louis XIVth-style" by the left-wing opposition), and for his "president for the rich" policy (I don't want to discuss if these critics are founded or not, I am just describing the general mood in France currently). Besides, a lot of Parisian streets are still full of uncollected garbage (sometimes set alight by rioters...), as the collectors are on strike too, which does not give the best welcoming image (and smell...) for the "Ville Lumière"...
Moreover, the still ongoing demonstrations (large, though mostly peaceful), combined with smaller, but more violent, riots and attacks by radical left activists, caused serious concerns about the safety and security of the State visit, while the police forces are already heavily mobilized by the demonstrations. The large wooden gate of the 18th century town hall of Bordeaux (which the King was supposed to visit next Tuesday) was even burnt by rioters last week (see picture below). It is probable that some radical, revolutionary far-left activists (who are, obviously, also staunch anti-monarchists and nostalgics of the French revolution folklore, when royal heads rolled under the guillotine's blade...), encouraged by some very vocal radical-left politicians, would have loved to take this opportunity to launch protest actions targeting the King (and thus indirectly President Macron).
So it was probably wiser to postpone the State visit, even if it is a diplomatic disaster in terms of image for France... Calm and peaceful Germany will therefore have the privilege to host King Charles III's first State visit...
So we'll have to wait, to be able to make a mix of the following two pictures...
(yes, I know it is the royal jewels message board , so I owed you at least one picture with royal jewels... )
Kongetro
https://regalevents913271078.wordpress.com/453
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