During the state visit of Emmanuel Macron in London, King Charles III conquered the scene with a refined diplomacy made of elegant gestures and thin charming.
The State Visit of President Emmanuel Macron in Great Britain ends on Thursday 10 July, an appointment orchestrated with all the ceremonial magnificence that Buckingham Palace can offer. To steal the scene from the French president, however, was King Charles III, the true protagonist of the event, capable of transforming an institutional ritual into a thin game of charm and strategy, embodies the best of the British soft power, between affability, historical memory and an unexpected bright verve.
With a scenic grace by consummate actor and a diplomatic instinct refined by years of waiting, the British sovereign has been able to transform every ceremonial into an exercise of elegance, humor and authority. From Windsor to Buckingham, it was the monarch – not the illustrious guest – who directed the whole symphony to Aplomb.
A waltz of gestures and cortesies
To welcome Macron to the airport, with perfect timing and composure, the principles of Wales. But Macron thought about the aplomb, with a kiss to Princess Kate – followed, later, from a wink that made more than a thousand speeches speak. In Windsor, King Carlo reciprocated with impeccable gallantry, leaving the kiss to Brigitte Macron, in a choreography of good manners who made the diplomatic chronicles smile.
The culminating moment came during the gala dinner, where King Carlo showed his now refined oratory art. With grace and intelligence, he walked on a speech that ranged from Asterix to Guglielmo the conqueror, and then landed at the heart of the message: theCordialsigned 121 years ago, which today turns into Friend. “Not only passed and present, but for the future”, Carlo said, lifting the glass in a toast that deeply hit the guest of honor.
The speech of King Charles III during the official dinner
The culminating moment came during the gala dinner, where King Carlo showed his now refined oratory art. With grace and intelligence, he walked on a speech that ranged from Asterix to Guglielmo the conqueror – whose invasion “was not particularly friendly” -, and then landed at the heart of the message: the friendly entendo, signed 121 years ago. Finally, the class coup and the wish for «… a new entente, no longer just friendly, but friend». A final touch that transformed the diplomatic tribute into a poetic declaration, capable of enchanting.
A phrase that the French president has found himself repeating over and over again during the evening, like a refrain, up to officially proclaiming: “We will launch the friend to Windsor in 2025”. A symbolic gesture that seals the perfect success of the visit: diplomatic, media, almost theatrical.
The diplomatic sovereign
In comparison with Macron, King Charles III appeared as the real global diplomat. Despite the disease, the years and a difficult legacy, the sovereign has found its natural dimension in the theater of international relations, demonstrating how diplomacy can still pass through the gesture, for body language, for the subtle art of gallantry.
