Prince William set to join Donald Trump in Notre Dame reopening
6 December 2024, 13:47
The Prince of Wales will meet incoming US President Donald Trump in Paris as they attend the reopening of the Notre-Dame cathedral tomorrow.
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William will join a number of world leaders including Donald Trump at the reopening of France’s iconic cathedral on Saturday.
The high-profile event celebrates the restoration of the world-famous landmark after it burned down in a devastating fire in 2019.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: "His Royal Highness is travelling at the request of His Majesty's Government on behalf of the United Kingdom."
It will be interesting to see how the meeting goes, as Mr Trump has not been very popular with the Royals in the past.
In 2022, it was reported that King Charles, William and Harry exploded in ‘torrents of profanity’ after learning of the former President's remarks about Kate Middleton.
Referring to a topless photo that emerged of Kate sunbathing, Mr Trump tweeted that she had “only herself to blame,” adding, "Who wouldn’t take Kate’s picture and make lots of money if she does the nude sunbathing thing.”
Excerpts from Christopher Andersen's biography The King: The Life of Charles III revealed the tweet sparked fury among the royals, particularly the King himself, Prince William and Harry.
"Trump's criticism of Kate resulted in what one Clarence House butler referred to as "torrents of profanity" from both Prince Charles and his sons," Mr Andersen said, according to Newsweek.
A few years earlier, in 2018, William and other members of the Royal Family snubbed Mr Trump on his visit to the UK, as the Princes reportedly “simply refused to attend.”
Mr Trump and dozens of heads of state and government have accepted invitations from French President Emmanuel Macron to attend the ceremony.
William's last official visit to Paris was in 2017, when he travelled to the French capital with wife Kate for a two-day trip in the aftermath of the Brexit result.
Earlier this year, he joined other world leaders in Normandy for the 80th anniversary commemorations of the Second World War D-Day landings.
High points of the re-opening ceremony, taking place over the weekend, will be the ritualised opening of the cathedral's massive doors, the reawakening of its thunderous organ and the celebration of the first Mass.
For both France and the Catholic Church, the televised and tightly scripted ceremonies will be an opportunity to display can-do resilience and global influence.
The Catholic faithful are so eager to worship again inside Notre Dame that tickets for the first week of Masses were snapped up in 25 minutes, the cathedral's rector said.
During part one of Notre Dame's rebirth on Saturday evening, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will lead more than 1,500 guests through a reopening service. Part two, on Sunday, is an inaugural Mass, with special rites to consecrate the main altar.
