Going to France under the shadow of war

The visit by Charles III and Queen Camilla recalls the trip by George VI and Queen Elizabeth when Hitler threatened

A troubling European war rages as an alliance of nations including the United States, Britain, France, and Germany continues to support Ukraine in its battle against Russia. Against that backdrop, King Charles III and Queen Camilla were sent to France by the British government this week to apply “soft power” and shore up relations between the two countries that had been frayed by Brexit—Britain’s departure from the European Union.

King Charles III and President Emmanuel Macron at a ceremony of Remembrance and wreath laying at the Arc de Triomphe on September 20, 2023

Eighty-five years ago, in July 1938, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth traveled to France as Hitler’s armies had already taken over Austria and were threatening to invade other sovereign European nations. It was vital for France and Britain to show the German aggressors that they had an unbreakable bond, and French President Albert Lebrun spared no expense for the royal couple’s visit.

So let’s take a journey back in time to an extraordinary four days in July 1938, with photographs not seen since then. George VI was the third reigning king to be honored by a state visit in France. In 1855 Queen Victoria was the first British head of state in 400 years to make an official trip across the English Channel. She was followed by King Edward VII, whose visit in 1903 laid the groundwork for the “Entente Cordiale” negotiated the following year after centuries of conflict and rivalry. King George V and Queen Mary made a state visit in 1914 to strengthen the alliance only four months before the outbreak of the First World War.

But the need for the strongest possible message of solidarity struck a new note for George VI and Elizabeth as they arrived by train at the Bois de Boulogne station on Tuesday July 19^th. The station had previously fallen into disrepair and was renovated for the occasion with a red-carpeted platform.  Accompanied by President Lebrun and his wife Marguerite, the British royal couple climbed a staircase into a custom-made pavilion lined with Gobelin tapestries.

Amid high tension with rapidly re-arming Germany, the King and Queen were driven into Paris in two cars, flanked by the mounted Garde Republicaine as a line of Algerian riflemen kept spectators at a safe distance. The Place de la Concorde was encircled by tanks, and a surveillance dirigible flew overhead.