French President Emmanuel Macron was snapped winking at the Princess of Wales as they shared a warm exchange during Tuesday's glittering state banquet at Windsor Castle. Mr Macron was seated next to Princess Kate for the occasion, and the two were seen clinking glasses and chatting throughout the lavish dinner.

The banquet, held for the first time at Windsor Castle, due to refurbishment works at Buckingham Palace, kickstarted the French leader's three-day state visit to the UK. Mr Macron was even seen winking at the King during his speech, when he mentioned the cultural ties between the UK and France and how a Frenchman, William the Conqueror, began building Windsor Castle more than 900 years ago and his son, William, has made Windsor his home.

Charles told the guests, who included the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Prime Minister and senior members of the Cabinet: "Monsieur le President, the summit that you and the Prime Minister will hold in London this week will deepen our alliance and broaden our partnership still further.

"Our armed forces will co-operate even more closely across the world, including to support Ukraine, as we join together in leading a Coalition of the Willing in defence of liberty and freedom from oppression; in other words, in defence of our shared values."

The lavish banquet counted Sir Mick Jagger and fiancée Melanie Hamrick, Sir Elton John and husband David Furnish among its guests, as well as actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence were also among those attending, as were former England goalkeeper Mary Earps, who now plays for Paris Saint-Germain, authors Joanne Harris and Sebastian Faulks and sculptor Sir Antony Gormley.

There were lighter moments, with the King joking about the popular French cartoon character Asterix the Gaul's incomprehension about Britons' love of tea with a splash of milk, and how dinner guests had drunk "English sparkling wine made by a French Champagne house".

And he described the "perfect combinations" of French and British - Monet's paintings of London fog and Thierry Henry, a former French striker with London football club Arsenal, scoring at Highbury.

Mr Macron also delivered a speech, mostly in French, but in English, he spoke about France's loan of the Bayeux Tapestry, which will go on display at the British Museum next year.

He said: "For the first time in 900 years, the Bayeux Tapestry will follow the same path as the warriors whose stories it tells and land on British soil.

"Either they were never made or they were lost - those final scenes of the tapestry are missing.

"I see that as (an) even more powerful symbol in the great mural of Franco-British history, the end has yet to be written."