Starting his state banquet speech in French, the King welcomed Macron before remarking that much has happened since his own royal tour of France in 2023. The UK and France "have stood ever closer since then", he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron was welcomed Tuesday in London by Britain's King Charles III for a three-day state visit in the first since 2008 by France's leader.

Macron’s three-day trip is the first state visit to the UK by a European Union head of state since Brexit and a symbol of the British government's desire to reset relations with the bloc after its withdrawal from the EU in 2020.