France is rolling out the red carpet for at one of its most magnificent and emblematic monuments: the Palace of Versailles, which celebrates its 400th anniversary.
Charles and Queen Camilla鈥檚 three-day trip to Paris and Bordeaux, starting Wednesday, includes a grand dinner at Versailles in the presence of over 150 guests in the Hall of Mirrors.
The palace has recently opened a gallery retracing its history, from its creation as a modest hunting lodge in 1623 to last century鈥檚 key diplomatic events 鈥� including the visits of Charles鈥� predecessors.
French President Emmanuel Macron鈥檚 office said Wednesday鈥檚 dinner echoes the state visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1972, when she was greeted at the Palace by President Georges Pompidou. King Charles liked the idea of following in his mother鈥檚 footsteps, according to Macron鈥檚 office.
Elizabeth II also visited the palace in 1958 and 10 years earlier, four years before her coronation in 1952.
Catherine P茅gard, president of the Palace of Versailles, praised the 鈥渘ever-ending story鈥� of the palace that 鈥渋ncludes visits from French children who come to Versailles with their classes, as well as visits from His Majesty the King of England or tourists who arrive from Asia and are less familiar with the history.鈥�
鈥淎nd we have a story to tell each one of them,鈥� she told The Associated Press.
Usually filled with a chaotic crowd of photo-snapping tourists from across the world, the Hall of Mirrors will be closed to visitors Wednesday to prepare for the royal banquet.
On the menu : blue lobster and crab followed by Bresse poultry and a gratin of cep mushrooms prepared, respectively, by French chefs Anne-Sophie Pic and Yannick All茅no, both awarded three Michelin stars. The cheese course will feature France鈥檚 Comt茅 and Britain鈥檚 Stichelton blue cheese. For dessert, world-famous pastry chef Pierre Herm茅 will prepare his rose macaroon cookie, composed of rose petal cream, raspberries and lychees.
Charles鈥� visit will make one more date in the Palace鈥檚 long history starting from King Louis XIII, to the French revolution and all the way to modern times that is being presented on its ground floor into the newly opened Gallery of the History of the Palace.
The gallery has 11 rooms, each thematic and largely chronological, presenting over 120 works aimed at providing visitors from across the world with an immediate understanding of the complex history of the palace.
It brings together recently acquired works alongside paintings and artworks that for many years had gone unseen as they鈥檇 been in storage, along with others that are now repositioned and better enhanced.
Laurent Salom茅, director of the National Museum of the Palace of Versailles and Trianon, said the exhibit features a number of masterpieces.
鈥淥ur intention was to create a first great moment of pleasure for visitors. First of all, because they鈥檝e traveled a long way. For a long time, they鈥檝e dreamed of Versailles. We didn鈥檛 want to give them a boring lesson to start their visit,鈥� he said.
Some artworks come from the original version of the palace and its gardens under its great builder Louis XIV, who decided to expand his father鈥檚 hunting lodge.
It鈥檚 鈥渁 history made by not just one monarch, it鈥檚 also an enormous team of artists 鈥� and the greatest artists. A good thing about absolute monarchy is to be able to gather all the best people at the same place,鈥� Salom茅 stressed.
Today the Palace contains 2,300 rooms spread over 63,154 square meters (679,784 square feet).
The historical gallery also offers the opportunity to discover anecdotes about the Palace鈥檚 life 鈥� like some panels in the 鈥淐hinese chamber鈥� of Queen Marie Leszczynska, Louis XV鈥檚 wife, that she in part painted herself.
In the last rooms, visitors can see the famous desk where the 1919 Treaty of Versailles was signed that formally ended World War I, as well as photos and archival video of heads of states and royalty honored at the palace during the 20th century.
鈥淭he idea is also to show that there is a gradual transformation of the Ch芒teau de Versailles, which has always remained alive through the centuries, from its creation to the present day,鈥� Salom茅 said.
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