The King's speech at the French State Banquet

Monsieur le Président, Madame Macron Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

Mon épouse et moi-même-sont ravis de vous accueillir au château de Windsor pour cette Visite d’État, la première que je reçois ici, depuis mon avènement au trône.

(It is with very great pleasure that my wife and I welcome you to Windsor Castle on the occasion of this State Visit; the first that I have hosted here at Windsor since my Accession.)

I recall with such fond memories our Visit to France in 2023, when you so graciously hosted us, Monsieur le Président. Much has happened in the meantime, and France and the United Kingdom have stood ever closer since then. At this crucial point in our shared histories, your visit is another occasion to celebrate our deep and enduring friendship.

Indeed, these ties extend beyond friendship into family. The Castle in which we meet this evening was begun by my ancestor – and your sometime countryman – William, Duke of Normandy, in the year 1070. It remains the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. So it is perhaps rather appropriate that my son, The Prince of Wales, who shares that earlier William’s name, has made Windsor his home with his family, like so many of our predecessors.

The Norman-English society that was established by William the Conqueror was neither – at least initially – an “entente”, nor especially “cordiale”. But it marked, on one view, the beginning of a thousand years of shared history and culture between our two peoples, which has enriched our two societies beyond measure.

Cette ère fut aussi le début d’un partage linguistique, même si je ne peux qu’espérer qu’en écoutant mon français, vous ne ressentiez pas la même chose que la Princesse Katherine de France pendant son apprentissage de l’anglais dans Henry V de Shakespeare. « Ô Seigneur Dieu! » a-t-elle dit, « c’est assez pour une fois. »...

(It also commenced the sharing of language, though I can only pray that, when listening to my French, none of you feels as Princess Katherine of France did in Shakespeare’s Henry V as she learnt English: “O Lord God!” she said, “that’s enough for once!”)

Louis-Philippe, King of the French, stayed here as a guest of my great, great, great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, in 1844. That was the first time in 400 years that a reigning French King had visited England. By any standards, that’s a long time to wait for an invitation to dinner! At least fewer than two years have passed since we last dined together, Monsieur le Président...

Queen Victoria had herself chosen France for her first overseas journey just the year before. These reciprocal visits laid the foundations for the alliance that we enjoy today. Their impact was tangible: soon after Louis-Philippe had left Windsor, Queen Victoria wrote to him to say, “how much we wish to see growing stronger and stronger this entente Cordiale between our two countries which exists so happily between us personally”.

Today, Queen Victoria’s wish is a reality. France is one of our strongest Allies, as well as a country for which my wife and I have deep affection personally. We marked 120 years of the Entente Cordiale last year with your Garde Republicaine parading alongside the King’s Guard at Buckingham Palace, while Number 7 Company Coldstream Guards joined their French comrades on the courtyard of the

Elysée. This unprecedented ceremonial moment reflected the depth of our countries’ modern-day cooperation...our armies quite literally standing shoulder-to-shoulder.

Less than two years ago we celebrated that relationship in Paris and Bordeaux on our first State Visit to France. As we look back on that special time, we recall with great fondness the warmest of welcomes the people of France extended to us.

This very Hall in which we meet this evening, rebuilt after a terrible fire, also recalls the extraordinary restoration, Monsieur le Président, of Notre-Dame de Paris, that we were able to see at first-hand during our visit. It is so very special to see the Cathedral open once again and I pay tribute to the expertise, craftsmanship and determination of all those involved.

A millennium ago, this Castle was built to guard the western approach to London. Today, our two countries face a multitude of more complex threats, emanating from multiple directions. As friends and as allies, we face them together.

These challenges know no borders: no fortress can protect us against them this time. Instead, the answer lies in partnership, and we – France and Britain – must help to lead the way. Our two nations share not only values, but also the tireless determination to act on them in the world.

Of course, we would not be neighbours if we did not have our differences. This is a relationship built not only on cooperation and mutual fascination, but also on amicable competition and occasionally even, dare I say, confusion. The indomitable Gaul, Astérix, himself, and no doubt many of his compatriots since, struggled to comprehend our beloved “tasse de thé avec un nuage de lait” taken at precisely five o’clock in the afternoon...just as we find it impossible to bake a baguette quite as well as those your artisans make in France..!

And can I just take this opportunity to say how delighted I was to see that, finally, that great French contribution to world cuisine has now been given its rightful place and recognised by UNESCO as part of the cultural heritage of humanity. Enfin! Not too soon, I would argue.

In 1960, Président de Gaulle said “the English are the English, that is not their fault”! Indeed some of our differences are so profound they may never be overcome. But we have made remarkable rapprochements in other areas: this evening we are about to drink English sparkling wine made by a French Champagne house. This would have been scarcely believable to at least some of our predecessors!

Mais avant tout, nos cultures sont, après mille ans ensemble, profondément liées. Ce qui est peut-être le plus remarquable est la manière dont la particularité d’un pays fait partie du récit de l’autre. Depuis des siècles, nos citoyens se sont admirés, se sont fait rire, et se sont imités. Nous avons échangé des idées, des modes et de la musique. Quand Monet brossait le brouillard londonien, quand Jane Birkin, « La plus française des britanniques », chantait le français, ou quand Thierry Henry marquait un but à Highbury, l’alliance était parfaite.

(But above all our cultures are, after a thousand years, so deeply connected. Perhaps the most remarkable thing is how one country’s difference is part of the other’s story. For centuries our citizens have admired each other, amused each other, and imitated each other. We have exchanged ideas, fashions and music. When Monet painted London’s fogs, when Jane Birkin, “la plus française des britanniques”, sang, or when Thierry Henry scored at Highbury, these were perfect combinations.)

Et pour ma part, toute ma vie, et lors de mes trent-six visites dans votre pays, j’ai admiré les extraordinaires attributs et exploits de la France. Son art de vivre, sa cuisine et son vin ; ses réalisations dans les sciences, l’ingénierie et la médecine ; son excellence dans des secteurs comme le luxe, l’aéronautique ou l’espace ; son exquise architecture et sa grande littérature dont les écrivains ont influencé la pensée du monde entier.

(And for my part, my whole life, and during all of my 36 visits to your country, I have been in awe of France’s extraordinary attributes and achievements. Her art de vivre, her cuisine and her wine; her extraordinary achievements in science, engineering and medicine; her leadership in sectors such as luxury goods or aerospace; her exquisite architecture and great literature from writers who have influenced the whole of world thought.)

And, ladies and gentleman, in what other country in the world could so flourish something called L’Association de Sauvegarde de l’Oeuf Mayonnaise?!

In 1944, Sir Winston Churchill said “All my life I have been grateful for the contribution France has made to the culture and glory of Europe, and above all for the sense of personal liberty and the rights of man which has radiated from the soul of France. Show me a moment when I swerved from this conception, and you will show me a moment when I have been wrong”. General De Gaulle, of course, spoke from London on 18th June 1940 with his message – one that stirs French souls to this day – that the idea of France shall never be extinguished. Monsieur le Président, today, with the Prime Minister, you paid your respects to your predecessor outside his headquarters at 4, Carlton Gardens, from where, with British support, he kept that flame alive.

Le sacrifice de nos ancêtres – dont nous avons honoré ensemble la mémoire en Normandie l’année dernière lors du quatre-vingtième anniversaire du Débarquement – nous ont montré l’exemple de la résolution et du courage nécessaires pour l’emporter aujourd’hui. Le général de Gaulle a parlé de notre alliance comme d’une « entente des démocraties ». Je crois fermement que l’amitié entre le Royaume-Uni et la France est essentielle à la préservation des libertés et de la paix en Europe.

(The sacrifice of our ancestors – whose memory we honoured in Normandy together last year at the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings – has taught us the resolve and the courage needed to prevail today. De Gaulle called our alliance an “entente of democracies”. My firm belief is that friendship between Britain and France is vital if the liberties and peace of Europe are to be preserved.)

Monsieur le Président, the Summit that you and the Prime Minister will hold in London this week will deepen our alliance and broaden our partnership still further. Our armed forces will cooperate even more closely across the world, including to support Ukraine, as we join together in leading a Coalition of the Willing in defence of liberty and freedom from oppression; in other words, in defence of our shared values. Our technology experts will also collaborate even more deeply to determine how we harness Artificial Intelligence for the good. Our diplomats will work together to defend the international rule of law and the multilateral system. Our security services and police will go further still to protect us against the profound challenges of terrorism, organised crime, cyber- attacks and, of course, irregular migration across the English Channel. And our businesses will innovate together, generating growth, trade and investment for our economies and across the world.

And, crucially, our conservationists, our governments and our private sectors will work as one to tackle deforestation, protect Nature and preserve our oceans, issues for which you and I share a particular concern, Monsieur le Président. When I spoke at the French Senate in 2023, I called this an ‘Entente pour la Durabilité’. On that visit we jointly launched the International Panel for Biodiversity Credits – a project which has the potential to transform the way in which the market can protect and restore Nature by mobilising capital and incentivising conservation. I know you believe in the importance of that as much as I do. In ways like this, and many others, I believe at this crucial moment at which the very future of our planet hangs in the balance, the U.K. and France have a critical role to play, together. In this respect, I hope I can offer my warmest congratulations on your leadership in hosting such a significant Ocean Summit in Nice last month?

Ainsi, avec espoir et fierté, je célèbre ici, et avec vous, un partenariat véritablement moderne entre nos deux pays.

(So it is with hope and with pride that I stand here, with all of you, to celebrate a truly modern partnership between our countries.)

Therefore, as we dine here in this ancient place, redolent with our shared history, allow me to propose a toast to France and to our new Entente. An Entente not only past and present, but for the future - and no longer just cordiale, but now amicale.