Prince Charles wows public and President Macron with speech in fluent French
18 June 2020, 15:38
Prince Charles has stunned the public – and French President Emmanuel Macron – by giving a speech in French as London was awarded the Legion D'Honneur.
The Prince of Wales showed off his language skills during a ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of General Charles de Gaulle's famous wartime broadcast.
He donned his military medals to give the speech as London was awarded the Legion D’Honneur to commemorate the city’s help during World War Two.
Mr Macron arrived in London earlier this morning and was greeted by the Prince and Duchess of Cornwall at Clarence House.
I am genuinely impressed by Prince Charles' French-speaking abilitieshttps://t.co/LxU5gLqaw8
— Julien Hoez (@JulienHoez) June 18, 2020
Twitter users said his French was “pretty good” and his accent “très charmant.”
The Prince said: “The appeal of 18th June by General de Gaulle embodies the spirit of French resistance.
Lovely personal bilingual speech by Prince Charles who is wearing all his French medals! #Appeldu18Juin1940 pic.twitter.com/jVM0Di5ob6
— Agnes C. Poirier (@AgnesCPoirier) June 18, 2020
“But it also echoes the determination of Londoners and of all British citizens who refuse to give up fighting for freedom.
“This determination my grandparents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth shared by refusing to leave London during the Blitz in order to stay with Londoners during the darkest days.
“I am therefore particularly proud that this statue of General de Gaulle should stand here in our capital, very close to that of my beloved grandparents who so admired his courage.”
The pair were joined at the ceremony by London mayor Sadiq Khan, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.
