Sarkozy trip begins with royal kiss
The Prince of Wales turned on the Gallic charm, kissing French first lady Carla Bruni’s hand as she flew in with President Nicolas Sarkozy for a state visit.
The Prince, accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, greeted the couple at Heathrow Airport ahead of two days of pomp and politics.
Mr Sarkozy spoke earlier of his hopes that the trip would cement a new “brotherhood” between the two neighbouring nations, putting centuries-old rivalries aside.
But all eyes were on the President’s new wife Ms Bruni, the Italian-born supermodel-turned-singer.
Ms Bruni, who speaks fluent English, smiled when Charles kissed her gloved hand as she stepped off their plane in spring sunshine.
The two couples exchanged a few words before the visitors greeted a line-up of dignitaries.
They quickly set off on the short journey to Windsor to be met by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.
Ms Bruni will play a prominent role in the high-profile visit, acting as guest of honour at a lunch hosted by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s wife Sarah on Thursday.
British newspapers carried a black and white photograph of her posing naked in her modelling days which is due to be auctioned in New York next month.
Tags: bet, heathrow, neighbour, prime minister gordon brown, the trip, Trip
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Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 7:36 pm under