British King Charles is to host French President Emmanuel Macron on a state visit to the UK from July 8 to 10, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The French leader and his wife, Brigitte Macron, will stay at Windsor Castle and be feted with a state banquet at the historic Berkshire royal residence.

Buckingham Palace said, “The President of the French Republic, His Excellency Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by Mrs Brigitte Macron, has accepted an invitation from His Majesty The King to pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom in July.

“The president and Mrs Macron would stay at Windsor Castle.”

The king and queen paid a state visit to France in September 2023 and enjoyed a warm rapport with the French leader and his wife.

The queen embraced Mrs Macron when they met again in December in London to give out prizes at the Entente Litteraire Prize award ceremony, an Anglo-French initiative which celebrates books aimed at teenagers and young adults.

Ongoing refurbishments at Buckingham Palace mean state visits have been relocated to Windsor for the foreseeable future.

The invitation to Mr Macron, for what would be his first state visit to the UK, comes eight years after he took office.

The last state visit to the UK from France was in March 2008, when President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni stayed at Windsor as the late Queen Elizabeth II’s guest.

The event would be seen as a bid by the UK government to strengthen ties with Europe and protect its economy after the turmoil sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

It is taking place ahead of Mr Trump’s invitation to meet the British king, which is reportedly being arranged for September.

The UK struck an economic deal with the American leader earlier, which cut tariffs on car exports and reduced tariffs on steel and aluminium, and kept a 10 per cent baseline tariff on most goods.

The British government is currently in talks with the EU regarding its trade and security relationship ahead of a summit later in May.

The king, still being treated for cancer, has a busy run of engagements in the coming weeks, including an overseas visit to Canada to open the country’s parliament at the end of May.

(dpa/NAN)