If the state visit to France of Charles III and Camilla was dictated by diplomatic imperatives, the detour to Bordeaux is more the “personal choice” of the monarch, believes Philippe Chassaigne. Before the arrival of the royal couple in Aquitaine, scheduled for Friday at 12:50 p.m. at Mérignac airport, the professor of Contemporary History at the University of Bordeaux-Montaigne, specialist in Great Britain, draws up for 20 minutes the reasons which pushed the king and queen to make this Bordeaux trip, which will allow them to highlight their favorite subjects.
How to explain the choice of Bordeaux in the royal couple’s state visit?
We must first remember that this visit to France was not the choice of Charles III; it was the government that asked him to use the soft power of the monarchy to repair ties with France. When it comes to state visits, the monarch does not go where he wants to go, but where the government wants him to go. That said, the choice may indeed seem confusing, Bordeaux being far from being the second city in France behind Paris. So why ? Perhaps because her mother Queen Elizabeth II had already come to Bordeaux in 1992. She had traveled with the yacht Britannia who had dropped anchor in the port of the moon, and had organized a reception on board with local personalities. Charles himself came to Bordeaux, as Prince of Wales, in 1977. And he had already visited a grand cru, Château Lafite-Rothschild in the Médoc, while this time he will visit Château Smith Haut-Lafitte , a grand cru from Pessac-Léognan.
You say that the monarch does not choose the country he goes to during state visits. But isn’t the choice to come to Bordeaux still up to him?
Indeed, the important thing for the British government is that it goes to Paris to see the President of the Republic, coming to Bordeaux is a personal touch. Diplomatically, whether he goes to Bordeaux or not has no impact.
The history of England in Aquitaine is very important. Its traces are still present, particularly in the vineyard. Did this also influence the choice to come to Bordeaux?
The United Kingdom actually constitutes a sort of common thread throughout the history of Bordeaux, even if this thread has softened a little today. As we say somewhat quickly, Bordeaux was English between 1152 and 1453. When Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henri de Plantagenêt, she brought as a dowry the entire southwest quarter of France. When two years later he became king of England, the Anglo-Angevin Empire was established, and his possessions in France were much more extensive than the English kingdom. A moment of great prosperity then began for Bordeaux, Aquitaine products being transported to London and served at the royal table, particularly wines.
Wines that have nothing to do with those we drink today?
The King of England was far away, the King of France is much closer, but the people of Bordeaux had become accustomed to a large degree of autonomy vis-à-vis the English crown. This is why the King of France had the Château Trompette built on the Place des Quinconces, a fortress intended to protect the city, but above all to monitor it. Then, when in 1814 the British troops led by Wellington who were heading north entered Bordeaux, the Bordeaux ruling elites applauded these British who were putting an end to the First Empire, during which Bordeaux trade suffered from the continental blockade . In the 19th and 20th centuries, there was an Anglophilia that developed: among the Bordeaux elites it was fashionable to play bridge, to teach your children English, to drink tea… At the same time, a certain number of The English settled, between the 17th and 19th centuries, in the vineyard, and became figures in the Bordeaux wine industry.
Why that ?
The King of England was far away, the King of France is much closer, but the people of Bordeaux had become accustomed to a large degree of autonomy vis-à-vis the English crown. This is why the King of France had the Château Trompette built on the Place des Quinconces, a fortress intended to protect the city, but above all to monitor it. Then, when in 1814 the British troops led by Wellington who were heading north entered Bordeaux, the Bordeaux ruling elites applauded these British who were putting an end to the First Empire, during which Bordeaux trade suffered from the continental blockade . In the 19th and 20th centuries, there was an Anglophilia that developed: among the Bordeaux elites it was fashionable to play bridge, to teach your children English, to drink tea… At the same time, a certain number of The English settled, between the 17th and 19th centuries, in the vineyard, and became figures in the Bordeaux wine industry.
Does the importance of wine in relations between Bordeaux and England explain why Charles visits the Smith Haut-Lafitte estate?
It is indeed a way of paying tribute to the Bordeaux wine sector and its links with the United Kingdom. But I see it more as an ecological message, because it is a vineyard that has already switched to organic farming for several years. As he himself has transformed all his farms into organic farming on his Highgrove estate, I think this is a way of showing his own commitment.
Is this also why the king will visit the Floirac Experimental Forest, dedicated to the study of forests in the face of global warming?
Yes. On this point, Charles truly followed in the footsteps of his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, who had become aware of the importance of protecting nature in the early 1960s, and who was elected in 1961 president of the British branch of WWF (World Wildlife Fund). Charles, since the 1970s, has expressed his interest in ecology. Today, all the products from its agricultural estates are sold organically. [sous la marque Waitrose Duchy Organic], and these are luxury products. The success of these organic productions is one of the keys which explains why income from these areas has continued to increase.