King Charles hosts French President for State Visit

[My2cents1975]

After Brexit, the Royal Family (Queen Elizabeth and then King Charles) have deployed soft power to support Anglo-French rapprochement.

Hopefully politicians will pursue improved co-operation between the two nations as it is critical for security (Ukraine war) and prosperity (reducing trade barriers for small to medium businesses hit hard by increased red tape post-Brexit).

King Charles hosts President Macron and his wife Brigitte at Windsor for state visit

I think the Catherine looks fine as she usually does. I quite like the Dior but not a fan of the red evening dress. Catherine dresses in a very safe manner. Always attractive and always appropriate, but from a fashion standpoint, just not particularly interesting.

I liked all the decorations. I wish they'd show photos of the food though 😡

I'm more interested in the starter than attire! Can you imagine what a nightmare it would be catering that??

Can you imagine how difficult it is to wait until nearly 10 at night for a dinner? Presumably there'd be three courses and you'd have to make some attempt at seeming to eat even if you/they didn't eat much. I suppose if you push the food round the plate it leaves you time to talk. I wonder what happens to all the left-over food.

It would be interesting to see the menu.

I don't like the evening dress.

@upinaballoon the menu's online. I want pictures, though, dammit! <thumps table>

I've had a rethink about the red dress and can now see it was a good choice for this specific event. A formal dinner (and you couldn't get more formal than this) didn't require showbiz glamour (loved her gold dress) nor did it want a me-me-me outfit. It looked as though the hem had something a bit frou-frou going on - taffeta petticoat perhaps? Anyway, my opinion changed reading some other posts on here 😊

Well spotted. I thought they always wore them after they were awarded but I must have been wrong. I'm glad they get a choice.

Catherine's dress probably looks better in person because photos flatten the material. I like the colour on her. It must be hard to dress for State dinners. You need to:
Coordinate with other senior ladies
Avoid anything that someone standing behind you can see down
Choose something that works with all the fussy orders and ribbons and sashes
Bring out the bling but not be more blingy than the Queen

It isn't like dressing for an ordinary white tie dinner.

I much prefer the Princess of Wales in light colours but obviously the colour was chosen for her. I loved the earlier outfit.

I think people are being harsh about her “safe” choices. These are basically her work clothes- she has to dress within some fairly narrow rules. I think she gets it exactly right almost all the time.

I like the colour of the red dress for the event, even if it’s not the best for Catherine

Not keen on the sleeves but she looks regal and fits the occasion

I can't be the only one who rarely thinks of Camilla as the top dog at these events, I always think it's Catherine! And BTW I don't mean that in a bitchy sense, just what "I" think. Might be watching out for Catherine's dresses and tiaras! She has been through a lot and I don't blame her if she might be sick of all that stuff right now. But it's an important job just the same and she does it with polish.

I liked the red, white and blue theme. I’m all
for improving Anglo-French relations.
I have visited Windsor Castle, when I went they had the hall laid out as if for a state banquet, it was so impressive. We really shouldn’t underestimate the soft power of the monarchy on the world wide stage.

She looked lovely in both her day and evening outfits but I can’t help thinking how warm she must have been! I live not too far away and it was pretty warm yesterday.

Exactly. Her clothes are there to carry the appropriate message - both about herself and her official role and as a mark of respect to the people who are visiting or who the royals are visiting.

It’s not the same as being a celebrity on the red carpet.

I found the menu, thank you. Quite light - more than 5 a day. I could manage raw tomatoes with fresh sage and olive oil dressing within a very few minutes from now, but not all the others!

Monsieur Macron seems to have been on the charm offence with the princess 🤭

I looked at the red dress again. As someone said earlier, there's a frilly petticoat underneath the top layer, all the way round I think, and possibly more layers to give it some swirl. I was noticing how near to the ground the hem comes. If your hem is about 2mm from the ground as opposed to 2 inches, do you think it has an effect on the way you walk?

Oh dear I hope I am not a usual suspect or tearing Catherine down. My point was that, especially in the outside photo , it looked a drab shade of red, which I think is a hard colour for most people to wear. Other photos , eg the one next to Macron the colour looks much brighter and richer , so I suspect the lighting didn't do the dress any favours. I thought the tricolour theme was a lovely idea. But she looked lovely and appropriate.

But Oh Camilla's jewels. I would not want to be part of the WRF but I'd love a go in their jewellery box once. ( or indeed vault and indeed under supervision 😂)

Several years ago I watched a documentary, probably on Channel 5, about Windsor castle. The Queen was hosting President Chirac for a banquet to celebrate something. The level of detail in preparing the table was fascinating, as were the china and glassware. Of course QEII came to give the finished table the once over and naturally spotted something out of place! However it looked absolutely stunning when finished. It must be amazing to attend one of these events. I noticed Mary Earps was invited. Don’t know her connection to France but glad to see the lionesses getting some respect.

What an endearing old romantic he is!

I'm intrigued by the blackcurrant-soaked sponge. I absolutely love summer pudding which used bread to soak up the blackcurrant, raspberry and redcurrant juices...I wonder if it's a sponge-cake variation on that?

And the rest....

Which I won't repeat on here, but if you know, you know.

Who would you want to sit next to? I was just musing on the small talk or big talk. I wonder what it’s like

I’d prefer PoWs to the politicians as sitting next to option

The flowers are so big you can only talk to the people sitting next to you. Is that normal etiquette for these things, that you don’t talk across the table?