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Prince William’s Visit to Paris Revives Memories of his Mother | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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French President Francois Hollande, center, waves as he welcomes Prince William with Kate, Duchess of Cambridge at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Friday March 17, 2017. Christophe Ena, AP


Paris- Prince William, the duke of Cambridge, and his spouse Kate have concluded a two-day visit to the French capital.

Their visit revived memories of the Prince’s mother Princess Diana, who died in a car accident in Paris almost 20 years ago. The French media described the prince’s visit with his beautiful wife an attempt to stress the close relations between Britain and France after tension caused by Brexit.

The prince’s visit included a meeting with President François Hollande at the Elysee. As a member of the British royal family, the French guard welcomed him with a special salutation in the palace’s square, which was filled with press photographers covering the event. Hollande accompanied his guests on a tour in the palace and invited them to revisit the Elysee although he will be leaving the presidency in a few weeks.

The Prince, who is the head of the Welsh Rugby Union, also attended the Six Nations rugby game between Wales and France at the Stade de France.

Prince William’s trip to France is the first on the diplomatic level and came among a series of planned visits to European capitals, aiming to break the United Kingdom’s isolation caused by its separation from the European Union.

According to sources, this visit came at an urgent request from the foreign office organizing the Kingdom’s relations with the Commonwealth countries and its foreign allies. But the French people’s interest in the young prince’s visit was focused on his personality as second in line to the throne, and on the admiration of youth to him and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge.

British Ambassador Lord Edward Llewellyn stated that since he arrived to the city of light, Prince William felt the French people’s deep affection towards the British royal family.

People’s eyes focused on the Duchess of Cambridge’s look and the dress she wore during a dinner held at their honor at the ambassador’s residence near the Elysee.

Although the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had visited Paris before, it was the first time the couple toured the Musée d’Orsay and the Eiffel Tour like any other tourist.

The French public, especially the Parisian ladies, looked forward to see Kate’s dresses; on the Elysee’s gate, welcomed by Hollande, the duchess appeared wearing a double-breasted grey coat; then, during the dinner held by the ambassador, she wore an elegant off-the-shoulder evening dress with white and green flower prints.

Parisian magazines prepared a bouquet of old pictures featuring Princess Diana in evening attires and compared them with her daughter-in-law’s looks. Among the British Ambassador’s hosts were stars Jean Reno and Audrey Tautou, along with the talented tailors who designed Kate’s wedding dress.

At the Invalides hospital, William and Kate were clearly touched by the plight of those injured in the 2015 Paris terror attacks.