To see the French president effuse over King Charles this week is Paris reminds one that State visits can bring out the true nature of a ruler. Few who saw the chemistry between Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan would deny the mutual satisfaction of two once humiliated nobodies from the lower middle class done good. Today there should be no doubt whatever that Emmanuel Macron is a passionate monarchist.
The State visit coincides with the reversal by the British Prime Minister of some important climate change policies, which are, presumably, close to the King’s own heart. This is not, despite appearances, the act of a political opportunist. As a wise writer in The Economist mentioned some time ago, Dishy Rishi may actually believe much of what he says and does. From his own policies to the migration of his accent, he has revealed himself to be not so much a conservative but a reactionary of the most traditional sort.
Whether such politics are in line with British sentiment now remains to be seen. And they tend to bring not thoughtful reformers but revolutionaries in their wake.