Fourteen months after the state visit of King Charles III and his wife Camilla to France, the Queen met the First Lady of France Brigitte Macron in London on Wednesday for the presentation of a Franco-British literary prize.
The Literary Entente Prize, celebrating the Entente Cordiale, was launched during the royal visit at the end of September 2023 by the Queen, known for her love of books, and Brigitte Macron, former professor of literature, from the National Library of France in Paris.
The two women know each other well and kissed each other when they met and left each other on Wednesday. They also spoke privately for more than 15 minutes. The Frenchwoman offered the British woman a book on the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral.
The head of state's wife confided that she and President Macron read every day. “The president, like me, never has a day without reading. Never,” she told guests.
The Literary Entente prize rewarded two authors, French-speaking and English-speaking, aimed at adolescents and young adults: Lucie Byron, author of comics for “Voleuse” (Thieves) and Manon Steffan Ros for “The blue book of Nebo” (The Blue Book of Nebo).
Neither the queen nor Brigitte Macron made a statement when the prices were announced, in the tense political context in France and while Camilla's health worries across the Channel.
The queen, weakened by a form of viral pneumonia, confided that she remained “tired” during the reception at the French Residence in London. Camilla has been unwell since returning from a tour of Australia and Samoa at the end of October, and has canceled several of her public appearances on the advice of her doctors.
The Literary Entente Prize is part of the celebrations of the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale which took place in the two countries this year. Signed in 1904, this agreement helped improve relations between France and the United Kingdom after the Napoleonic Wars. It is to this day considered the foundation of the alliance between the two members of NATO, with an often tumultuous friendship.
