Wednesday, May 27, 2009

D-Day snub to Queen: Palace fury as Sarkozy refuses to invite royals to 65th Anniversary - and Brown won't act | Mail Online

D-Day snub to Queen: Palace fury as Sarkozy refuses to invite royals to 65th Anniversary - and Brown won't act | Mail Online

Buckingham Palace voiced anger last night after the French snubbed the Queen over next week's D-Day commemorations.

Aides said senior royals had repeatedly made clear their eagerness to support the historic 65th anniversary events in Normandy.

But last night French officials crushed any remaining hopes, admitting they had never had any plans to invite members of the British Royal Family.

They said President Nicolas Sarkozy was focused on the 'main event' of hosting U.S. President Barack Obama.

There was also anger at the British Government for failing to secure a Royal invitation from their French counterparts. Protocol means they cannot simply invite themselves.

The failure to invite the Queen - who is head of state of both Britain and Canada - will be seen as an insult to the memory of the 17,556 British and 5,316 Canadian troops who died to free France and are buried there.


Sarko seems to be acting badly here. But perhaps it's due to Hollywood. After all from American war films you would never guess the UK played a role in fighting the Nazis.

And for Americans of course, Canada simply does not exist.

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