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REGRET OVER THE GUILLOTINE OR NOSTALGIA? JOURNALIST NABILA RAMDANI EXPLORES WHY FRANCE LOVES THE ROYALS Despite its ability to put on a brave face behind immense wealth and privilege, the

British Royal Family appears to be in permanent crisis at the moment. Errant members, including an actual son of the King, have heaped ignominy on the Windsors, and there are regular sleaze

and diplomatic scandals. A DYNASTY IN TROUBLE Prince Andrew, who was born second in line to the throne (he is now eighth), has become a pariah figure, with military titles and patronages

stripped because of past shady links with an international sex ring. Even Charles III, who has been King for less than a year, has been implicated in a cash-for-honours charity case which,

lucky for him, the Metropolitan Police has stopped investigating. Prince Harry, currently fifth in line, has infamously put his name to a ghostwritten book and documentary TV series dragging

pretty much everyone and everything through the mud. As well as betraying his own, he has deserted England and moved to the United States, where he is continually pilloried for his

hypocritical media antics. Constitutional monarchies welcome dissent, it is all part of the democratic process, but when they are being ruthlessly mocked, they are in serious trouble. Nobody

would argue that satirical US TV show South Park’s portrayal of Harry and Meghan Markle as ‘The Dumb Prince and his Stupid Wife’ has bolstered the Royal brand. In spite of all this, there

is at least one country that always seems to stay loyal, and that is France. A VAST WINDSOR FANZONE Incredible as it sounds, a once ferociously anti-Royal republic, which literally chopped

the heads off its King and Queen in 1793, sometimes feels like a vast Windsor fanzone. Hence so much time and energy being put into King Charles’ rearranged state visit to France, which will

take place in September. READ MORE: DATES OF KING CHARLES III’S SEPTEMBER VISIT TO FRANCE CONFIRMED READ MORE: NINE MILLION FRENCH VIEWERS FOR CORONATION’S ‘ROYAL FÊTE DES VOISINS’ It comes

as Le Touquet, the seaside resort where President Emmanuel Macron has a holiday home, renames its airport Elizabeth II, in honour of Charles’ mother. Le Monde has just published a new

‘Great History of the Kings of France’ series highlighting the enormous contribution they made to the creation of Gallic institutions. MEDIA COVERAGE IS MOSTLY RESPECTFUL France by no means

started with the publication of the Rights of Man, the 1789 document that underpinned the Revolution and the start of republicanism. Fascination in the hereditary Crown continues, along with

great affection for the British version. When Queen Elizabeth II died, Tricolours were flown at half mast, and the lights of the Eiffel Tower were extinguished. “To you, she was your

Queen,” Mr Macron told British subjects, adding: “To us, she was the Queen. She will be with us forever.” READ MORE: QUEEN'S INFLUENCE HAS LED TO RISE IN CORGIS IN FRANCE SAY BREEDERS

READ MORE: FRENCH POSTAL SERVICE PAYS TRIBUTE TO QUEEN WITH COLLECTOR STAMPS Royal news fills French newspapers and magazines, along with primetime documentaries, and they are by no means

all based on tittle-tattle about ‘Hazbeen ‘n’ Megain’. It may be guilt at the horrible deaths of Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, or some deep feeling that life was simpler with a

single family as the head of state, but the French are enormously respectful. READ MORE: FREE EXHIBITION EXPLORES PERIOD BEFORE AND AFTER THE FRENCH REVOLUTION FRANCE DREAMS OF HOW IT MIGHT

HAVE BEEN We live in an increasingly complex world, and nostalgia for an easier, pre-Enlightenment age can feel both comforting and unifying. The role that replaced the Monarchy, the

President, is often likened to a tinpot king, a figure who lives in a palace and who commands all military forces, yet who faces compulsory ejection from the job after a maximum of 10 years.

Despite his democratic mandate, the President is widely hated by huge swathes of the population too. Under such circumstances, dreams of how it might have been are entirely understandable,

and all the better if the United Kingdom inspires them. RELATED ARTICLES SCHADENFREUDE, SECRET ENVY: WHY DO THE FRENCH LOVE THE BRITISH ROYALS? WHO ARE THE FOUR RIVAL CLAIMANTS TO THE FRENCH

THRONE? ‘BRINGING BACK MONARCHY TO FRANCE MAY NOT BE A RIDICULOUS IDEA’