- .Engagements will form part of three-day visit in June to mark war effort
- .Will be formally received by President Hollande at the Elysee Palace
- .The Queen, who speaks French fluently, first visited France in April 1957
- .Her most recent State Visit across the Channel was in April 2004
With more than 60 years of foreign diplomacy under her belt, she is the very soul of discretion.
Which is likely to suit President Hollande of France – he of the distinctly colourful private life - down to the ground when he hosts a three-day state visit to France by the Queen in June.
Buckingham Palace formally announced today that the monarch, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, will travel to Normandy on June 5 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
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Visit: The royal couple, who will be aged 88 and 92 respectively at the time, will undertake a series of engagements to mark the British war effort on June 6
The royal couple, who will be aged 88 and 92 respectively at the time, will undertake a series of engagements to mark the British war effort on June 6, before travelling on to Paris where they will be formally received by President Hollande at the Elysee Palace.
While in the French capital the sovereign and her husband will attend several state events, before returning to the UK on June 7.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment today on whether they had been told President Hollande would be hosting the Queen accompanied by a First Lady.
Last month the French leader very publicly split with his partner, Valerie Trierweiler, 48, after his affair with leading actress Julie Gayet, 41, was exposed.
Photographs of Mr Hollande, 59, arriving for a rendezvous with his lover on the back of moped were published by a French magazine, resulting in Miss Trierweiler, herself a former mistress of the president, being admitted to hospital for ‘stress and exhaustion’.
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Overseas: The Queen¿s state visit in June will be preceded by another foreign engagement in April, this time to Italy, when she will fly to Rome for lunch with the Italian President
After days of claim and counter-claim, the president effectively sacked his First Lady with a curt 18 word public statement in which he announced that their ‘shared life’ was over.
The Queen’s state visit in June will be preceded by another foreign engagement in April, this time to Italy, when she will fly to Rome for lunch with the Italian President.
Her rapidly filling diary puts paid to recent claims that she would not be undertaking any more international trips on behalf of the nation.
Although aides admit she has handed her long-haul travel to younger members of the Royal Family, particularly her heir, Prince Charles, they insist she will continue to take on a small number of less-demanding foreign visits as and when required.
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Remembrance: The pair were last in France ten years ago to mark the 60th anniversary of the D-day landings
In a statement Buckingham Palace said: ‘The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, will make a State visit to France from 5th – 7th June. Her Majesty and His Royal Highness are visiting at the invitation of the President of France, President Hollande.
‘On 6th June The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will attend events in Normandy to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
‘On 6th and 7th June Her Majesty and His Royal Highness will attend State Visit events in Paris and be received at the Élysée Palace by President Hollande. ‘
The Queen, who speaks French fluently, first visited France in April 1957. Her most recent State Visit to France was in April 2004.
The Queen also visited on June 6 2004 for the sixtieth anniversary of the Normandy Landings.
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French President: They will be received at the Élysée Palace by President Hollande during the visit
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