FRANCE : On Monday, France will become the first country outside of the British Commonwealth to see its soldiers take part in the ceremonial Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace.
The event will mark the anniversary of the signing of the Entente Cordiale in 1904 in which the rival nations agreed to fight on the same side in the First World War, which marked a dramatic improvement in relations between London and Paris.
The ceremony will see 32 soldiers from the Republican Guard of the National Gendarmerie march alongside 40 Guardsmen of the F Company Scots Guards in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, GB News reports.
On the same day, 16 British troops from the Coldstream Guards will join soldiers from the Regiment de la Garde Republicaine during a similar ceremony for President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace.
Soldiers from the two nations were seen rehearsing the ceremony on Friday at Westminster’s Wellington Barracks, named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, precipitating his second and final abdication as French Emperor.
Garrison Sergeant Major Andrew Stokes, who has led the training for the ceremony, said: “It is crucial for everyone in Nato to have a strong relationship.
“And this is an opportunity to both celebrate the 120th anniversary of the signing of the Entente Cordiale and also demonstrate our close relations with the French.
“Our first rehearsal went really well so we’re not nervous at all. It will be a wonderful celebration and an opportunity for the public to witness such a spectacle.”
The ceremony at Buckingham Palace will be attended by the heads of the respective nations militaries, UK Chief of General Staff General Sir Patrick Sanders and French Chief of the Army Staff General Pierre Schill.
They soldiers will be inspected by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, on behalf of King Charles, who stepped back from his public duties following his diagnosis with cancer.
The designer of the event, Lt Col James Shaw said: “This is a sign of the strength of our relations. The French are some of our closest friends. And who knows when we might need each other?
BYKURT ZINDULKA
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