Receiving a king in Paris is quite a logistics. What vehicle will the sovereign travel in? What is he eating? What doesn’t he eat? What will he visit? Who will he meet? So many questions that have filled the days – and certainly the nights – of the head of protocol in recent months.
A pressure that Laurent Stefanini knows well: he himself organized the last state visit to France of Queen Elizabeth II, in 2014. “A state visit is a negotiation,” says the ambassador. “A dialogue”, in which each point is proposed by the inviting power and validated by the British.
As we get closer the king’s state visit Charles IIIwhich begins this Wednesday, says the former head of protocol of the French Republic from 2010 to 2016 BFMTV “Real Podcast” the imperatives of such an event, addressing point by point the main issues that must be resolved before the arrival of a British sovereign.
• How to ensure a royal visit?
Laurent Stefanini remembers a visit that was ultimately “quite easy to organize” in terms of security. The British “do not have particular demands” in this area, explains the former head of protocol. “It may have changed a little since then, but security around the British sovereign is quite light, much lighter than around many contemporary heads of state and government.”
But the state visit of Charles III occurs at a special moment, in the middle of the Rugby World Cup and before Pope Francis’ trip to Marseille. “We are approaching a particularly intense week in matters of public order, which will mobilize all available resources in mobile force units (CRS and mobile gendarmes),” wrote the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, in a telegram addressed to the prefects.
Especially since, like his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who has made no less than five state visits to France, King Charles must take some mass baths in Paris and Saint-Denis.
“For an event like this, we secure it in advance,” explains Laurent Stefanini. “The Paris Police Prefecture is very well equipped to start securing several hours in advance. We do what we call mine clearance, that is, we make sure that there are no explosives nearby. There are also enough uniformed police officers and in “uniform. civilian clothing to ensure the visit goes well.”
• How to organize the sovereign’s trip?
Already in 2004, on the occasion of her penultimate visit, Queen Elizabeth took the Eurostar to cross the English Channel.
“For the centenary of the Entente Cordial, the Queen came with a special Eurostar,” recalls the former head of protocol, highlighting that it is a “relatively expensive” device and “not necessarily necessary, because we have difficulties filling it.”
Therefore, in 2014, the sovereign borrowed “a normal Eurostar” with “simply part of a carriage that had been reserved for the use of the queen.” Upon arrival at the Gare du Nord, the passengers were “blocked for a few minutes, until Elizabeth II left the station.” If King Charles preferred the plane this time, he would still have to go by train to Bordeaux, the second stage of his trip to France.
As for Elizabeth II, she still had a Bentley following the court, whose comfort she preferred, to ensure her travels.
“But for the descent of the Champs Elysées with the numerous escort of the Republican Guard and the President of the Republic, it obviously had to be a French car, the President was not going to get into a Bentley,” says Laurent Stefanini. “We found among our cars in the park that of the Presidency of the Republic, a car tall enough to also house the Queen’s hat.”
• Where should the king sleep during his visit?
“Tradition dictates that he remain in his embassy, which is two steps from the Elysée, on Faubourg-Saint-Honoré street,” says the former head of protocol.
“It is quite large, it is a real small palace, expanded in the 19th and early 20th centuries,” describes Laurent Stefanini. “It is a tradition that dates back just over a century and to King Edward VII (son of Queen Victoria, editor’s note).”
• Who to invite to the state dinner?
The list of personalities invited to the State dinner, scheduled for this Wednesday afternoon in Versailles, is “established by mutual agreement” between France and the United Kingdom. “It is above all the power that invites and, therefore, the President of the Republic” who draws up a list of personalities to invite, describes Laurent Stefanini.
“There are members of the government, but also part of the established bodies, often the grand chancellor of the Legion of Honor, the permanent secretary of the French Academy… There are also economic circles, cultural circles and those for whom Francoism -La British bilateral relationship is very important.
At the beginning of the dinner, each guest is presented to the king, indicates Paul Poulade, head of protocol in 2001. And if the invitations arrive late, the guests generally have no difficulty in freeing themselves, adds Laurent Stefanini with humor.
• What to serve at the state dinner?
As for the menu, it is also proposed by France and takes into account the dietary recommendations provided by the United Kingdom embassy.
“The President of the Republic and his wife will have prepared this meal with care: the choice of dishes and the choice of wines,” assures Laurent Stefanini. “They will probably have submitted to British royal protocol or even directly (to the king and queen), as they have had several opportunities to meet in recent months. These elections will therefore be validated by the British side.”
According to Paul Poulade, you should be served Bordeaux wine. In fact, the king will visit a vineyard in the region on Friday, the last day of his state visit.
During the Queen’s visit in 2014, she was served foie gras, which should not be the case with Charles, who banned good foie gras with truffles, which she remembered from her first state visit in 1957, in all royal residences. We felt a little obliged, by a kind of gastronomic symbol, to offer it to them,” recalls Laurent Stefanini.
During Elizabeth II’s visits to France, the French presidents, Georges Pompidou in 1972 and Jacques Chirac in 2004, made one of the worst mistakes: touching the queen. This is not enough to cause a diplomatic incident, says Laurent Stefanini, who considers it a “small discomfort.”
In any case, the risk is lower with Carlos III. “He is someone very easy, very courteous, very open, very attentive to others and not at all formalistic or rigid,” observes the former head of protocol. He is more tactile and we are not in “that same sacralization of the king’s body,” agrees Thomas Pernette, specialist in royal etiquette and author of Survival manual and royal manners. (EPA Editions).
Source: BFM TV
