FRENCH troops are to guard Buckingham Palace for the first time in history.
King Charles has approved the drill, marking 120 years of the Entente Cordiale, at Monday’s Changing the Guard.
Some 32 soldiers from the Republican Guard of the National Gendarmerie will parade with Scots Guards.
The French are staying and rehearsing at Wellington Barracks, named after the Duke who led British troops against emperor Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo in 1815.
Brigadier Justin Maciejewski, of the National Army Museum, said: “Wellington would be raising an eyebrow at this. But it shows our allies change over time and historical enemies can become friends.”
While the London ceremony takes place, Coldstream Guards will guard the Elysée Palace in Paris.
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Lt Col James Shaw, who designed the event, said: “I’m sure Wellington would be delighted to see the strength of the relationship these days. The fact the French are here is truly historic.”
Major Guillaume Dewilde, captain of the French guard, said taking part was a great honour.
He added: “Simply shaking hands with my British counterpart means so much.”
Asked about the food in barracks he said: “Everything we say about British food is BS, because it is really good.”
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The Buckingham Palace guard will be inspected by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Army chief General Sir Patrick Sanders and French ambassador Hélène Duchêne.
The troops will then be marched out by the Band of the Grenadier Guards.
The French will not stand guard at the Palace as it is an honour reserved for the Royal Bodyguard and British and Commonwealth troops.
The two nations signed the Entente Cordiale in 1904.
But reminders of the historic rivalry will be all around then on Monday.
Britain’s foot guards wear bearskin hats after looting them from the French Imperial Guard at Waterloo.
Asked what Napoleon might make of the ceremony, French Gendarmerie Lt-Col Nicolas Mejenny, said: “Things have changed a lot since then.”
Lt Col Shaw said the French soldiers’ drill was at a fantastic standard, adding: “They are the Garde Républicain, we would expect nothing less.”
The MoD said of the Elysée Palace collaboration: “It will be the first ever example of a foreign state guarding the French Presidential Residence.”
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Jerome Starkey
