Two busy days, however job accomplished for the King and Queen in Paris.
If Wednesday was the ceremonial, Thursday was the enterprise finish of the capital’s appeal offensive.
The centrepiece was a speech from the King to the French parliament, pledging to strengthen relations between Britain and France.
It was a historic second – no monarch earlier than has spoken from the Senate ground.
And historic references peppered the speech, notably the Entente Cordiale signed by his nice, nice grandfather King Edward VII.
However from the King a contemporary take, why not an Entente for sustainability he proposed? The local weather disaster is a trigger he has lengthy campaigned for.
In photos:
King gifted football shirt – as Queen plays table tennis
And whereas his phrases have been very a lot written with and authorised by the federal government, the timing felt awkward, with Westminster making headlines by delaying some local weather targets over its internet zero technique, together with pushing back the deadline for banning sales of petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035.
It was, although, a heat speech, very a lot aimed toward friendship and customary causes. A reference to the late Queen Elizabeth II too – “she beloved France, and France beloved her”.
And the reception within the chamber was heat too, a standing ovation, which one French paper remarked was “very uncommon”.
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Past the politics, the go to took the couple on a tour of photograph alternatives with communities and causes near them.
The Queen apologised for her “rusty” French as she launched a cross-Channel literature prize.
She then took on the primary woman, Brigitte Macron, at desk tennis in Saint-Denis, by the way not removed from current rioting.
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Queen showcases her desk tennis abilities
A reminder maybe why safety has been so tight.
The cordons are giant, making it laborious for well-wishers to get shut.
However the bonhomie has been ample. The president placed on a present. Each second of the final two days, projecting a diplomatic show of Anglo-French unity.