The crowning event was the state banquet at the magnificent 2,300-room Palace of Versailles, where the couple rubbed shoulders with king of romcom Hugh Grant, Sex Education and Barbie star Emma Mackey and music royalty Sir Mick Jagger, among VIP guests from the worlds of sport, business and the arts.
"He doesn’t want asparagus that’s out of season either, because shipping it in is environmentally damaging, but there will be a mushroom gratin, which was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth.” The couple touched down earlier in the day at Orly airport before a ceremonial welcome at Paris’s Arc de Triomphe from President and Madame Macron. At a remembrance and wreath-laying ceremony, the King was invited to symbolically light the eternal flame which burns in memory of those who died in the two world wars.
Loud chants of “King” echoed from balconies and made for a rapturous welcome to the start of the three-day visit. The couple visited Germany in March and were due to travel to France as part of the same tour, but at Mr Macron’s request they rescheduled the trip because of riots in Paris.