LONDON — The British royals’ affair with Paris comes to an end.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla bid adieu to French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, first lady Brigitte Macron, at the Élysée Palace as their state visit comes to an end Friday in Bordeaux.
Camilla wore a printed moss green dress with a black quilted mini top-handle bag from Chanel that she had carried earlier in the day.
The royal couple met with Bruno Pavlovsky of Chanel and le19M, the hub for the French luxury brand’s specialty workshops on the border between Paris and its northern suburb of Aubervilliers.
Camilla wore a Fiona Clare printed dress and white coat with a pair of two-tone black heels and a handbag from Chanel, as well as a vintage Alhambra bracelet from Van Cleef & Arpels.
Macron wore a mid-length red jacket with statement buttons and black trousers with a clutch in hand.
At the le19M campus, Charles and Camilla both joined in on the craftsmanship fun as Pavlovsky showed them around. The king toyed with little tools while his wife tried her hand at weaving tweed on a traditional loom.
In March, it was announced that Chanel and The Prince’s Foundation had launched a new Métiers d’art education program in partnership with le19M.
Chanel said the “highly skilled” Métiers d’art program will take place at a newly developed building that’s part of the foundation’s Highgrove training facility in Gloucestershire, England.
Highgrove is a private family estate that belongs to King Charles III, founder of The Prince’s Foundation. The foundation offers education and training programs to people of all ages in fields such as traditional arts and crafts, horticulture, architecture and design.
Queen Camilla, King Charles III, French President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron at the Elysee Presidential Palace.
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Later this year, Chanel will stage its next Métiers d’Art collection in Manchester, England, on Dec. 7.
The city built its fortune on the textile industry during the 19th century’s Industrial Revolution. Dubbed “Cottonopolis,” Manchester was once the international center of the world’s cotton industry. Chanel, however, is more closely associated with tweed produced in Scotland, a heritage it explored with a high jewelry collection shown in London in June.
The brand Chanel plays a significant part in the couple’s relationship.
It is alleged that Princess Diana stopped wearing Chanel after her separation from Prince Charles, now King Charles III, because he used to wear cufflinks with two Cs entwined as a subtle tribute to Camilla Parker-Bowles, now Queen Camilla.
On Friday in Bordeaux, Charles and Camilla will be meeting with emergency workers and communities affected by the 2022 wildfires in the region; the U.K. and French military personnel and they will tour an organic vineyard.
King Charles and Queen Camilla’s trip was planned for March but was postponed due to the riots in France over President Macron’s changes to France’s pension plan. The trip marks Charles’ first state visit since succeeding his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron were present in May for Charles’ coronation. Prior to the event, Emmanuel and Charles met in 2022, when the French president gifted the British royal a book of pictures celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to France.