William of England arrives in the city where his mother died

The prince travels to Paris, accompanied by Kate Middleton, in the year in which marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Lady Di.

On board the Eurostar, and without their children being accompanied, the Dukes of Cambridge have arrived in Paris this Friday afternoon for an official visit. Guillermo and Catalina will remain in the French capital for two days, in which they face an agenda full of commitments that will begin with a reception with President François Hollande in the Elysee Palace. In the next 48 hours, the dukes will be the guests of honor of a gala dinner at the residence of the British ambassador, Edward Llewellyn; They will meet young representatives of French culture, sport, business or charities; Greet survivors of the terrorist attacks in Nice and in the Parisian nightclub Bataclan; And will attend the rugby match against Wales against France in the Six Nations Tournament, among other events.

The prince is not expected to visit the Alma Bridge, the place where Diana of Wales and her partner, Dodi Al Fayed, were killed in a car crash on 31 August 1997 or near the Flame of Liberty, a copper monument installed there in 1989 that since Diana’s death has become an unofficial memorial of the princess, and pilgrimage place of her admirers.

Although both Guillermo and his brother Enrique have been in Paris on private visits on other occasions, part of the English press has highlighted the emotional connotations that can have for the prince this trip in the year of the 20th anniversary of the death of his mother. The reasons, however, seem to have much more to do with the strengthening of bilateral relations with France in the pre-Brexit storm than with a tribute to the Princess of Wales. The visit was requested by the Foreign Office, and takes place one day after Queen Elizabeth has granted the sanction or real permit to the Brexit bill, which will allow Theresa May to activate The famous article 50 that will trigger the process of leaving the EU.

Historically, the royal family has been «recruited» on numerous occasions as a diplomatic weapon and, in fact, the duke’s efforts to strengthen ties with Europe will not end in France; In July they will also visit Poland and Germany. The Prince of Wales and his wife will do the same, also at the request of the government, with Romania, Italy, the Holy See and Austria since the end of March.

Source.ElPais