King Charles III Pays Tribute To Late Parents During Paris Visit

King Charles III and Queen Camilla embarked on their first state visit to France as the new King and Queen of Britain on Wednesday. They were welcomed with a lavish state banquet at the historic Palace of Versailles where he paid tribute to his late parents, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II, during a personal toast.

His Majesty recalled past visits made by his parents to France during a dinner held in his honour at the Hall of Mirrors. He mentioned his "parents' first official visit together was to France in 1948, shortly after their wedding".

The monarch shared: "By all accounts, they made quite a splash, dancing till the early hours at the glamorous Chez Carrere in the Rue Pierre Charron, serenaded by Edith Piaf. I suspect it may have left an indelible impression on me, even six months before I was born. 'La Vie en Rose' is one of my favorite songs to this day!"

Versailles is now a public museum but it served as a French Royal Palace for much of its history. King Charles III remembered that then President Pompidou hosted Queen Elizabeth II at the Palace of Versailles on her second state visit in 1972. He also recalled with fondness the trouble the U.K. embassy got into for attempting to bring English wine to France for the state banquet.

He shared: "I was reminded recently that when she returned the courtesy with dinner for the President and Madame Pompidou at the Hotel de Charost, they ran into a little more difficulty. Our embassy tried to bring several cases of English wine over from Hampshire for the banquet, only to be prevented by a customs official at Orly. In those days, there was no such thing as 'English wine'. . . As Roland Topor surmised, 'Les Français ont du vin, les Anglais de l'humour.' ['The French have wine, the English, humor'.]"

In his address, which he mostly said in French, King Charles III also noted the "long and complex" history shared by France and the U.K. saying: "Our relations have of course not always been entirely straightforward. I think it was a French King who once said that he would rather be a wood cutter than the King of England, dealing with our national complexities. As an avid forester, I am pleased to report that it is entirely possible to combine the two."

The dinner marked the first day of King Charles III and Queen Camilla's three-day visit to France. There were about 150 guests at the banquet which also included French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, British actor Hugh Grant, Rolling Stones' singer Mike Jagger, football player Didier Drogba, writer Ken Follett, and many senior politicians and CEOs.