King Charles and his wife Queen Camilla arrive in France

Wednesday marked the start of King Charles III’s first state visit to France in his capacity as king. The journey had been postponed in order to demonstrate that the foundations of the trans-Channel relationship are sound despite a host of political problems following Brexit.

Charles’ first state travel overseas after becoming king following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II was originally scheduled for March. But because of significant rioting and strikes over pension reforms across France, it was abandoned.

The original schedule, which was jam-packed with ceremony and grandeur in a nation that overthrew its monarchy in the 1789 revolution and later executed the king, is still fully in place in the capital city of Paris and the southwestern city of Bordeaux.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne greeted the king and his wife Queen Camilla at the Paris Orly airport, and the visit was graced with crisp autumnal skies, according to an AFP correspondent.

After that, they were to be greeted by Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, and his wife Brigitte at the Arc de Triomphe memorial in the heart of Paris, where they would lay wreaths for the respective nations’ war dead.

After that, they will board a Citroen DS7 convertible that will be pulled by 136 Republican Guard horses as they travel up the Champs-Elysees to the Elysee Palace to meet President Macron.

The royal couple will then be hosted by the Macrons in the evening at a lavish state luncheon at Versailles, the château west of the capital that is synonymous with French aristocracy.