Fears for King Charles as monarch seen with bloodied eye during French President Emmanuel Macron's UK state visit - following 'incurable' cancer bombshell
Charles invited Macron for a three-day stay, which began on Tuesday.
It marks the first time a European Union head of state has visited the UK since Nicolas Sarkozy, then-French President, visited in 2008.
Charles and Queen Camilla greeted Mr Macron and the First Lady in West London, where Charles's bloodshot right eye was very noticeable.
It stood out in photos as the four exchanged words, raising concerns as Charles, 76, continues to recover from an undisclosed form of cancer.
"This is horrifying," one person wrote of Charles' eye on X, while another person said "it looks awful."
"I have had this happen to me a few times. It didn't hurt, but it was shocking to wake up to," one more person said.
Nevertheless, the monarch appeared unbothered by his painful-looking red eye, formally referred to as a subconjunctival hemorrhage.
A subconjunctival hemorrhage occurs when a blood vessel breaks just underneath the clear surface of your eye and is likened to a skin bruise.
It's understood to be a harmless condition which disappears within two weeks or so.
The monarch's eye was affected overnight and is said to be unrelated to any other health conditions, The Sun reported.
Charles was all smiles as the foursome set out for Windsor Castle in 1902 State Landau through streets adorned with Union Jacks and French flags.
The King led Mr Macron into the landau, and the pair chuckled and chatted as they took their seats.
The Queen and Brigitte Macron followed them in the Semi-State Landau, Buckingham Palace announced.
The King was then seen joking with the Macrons during an art exhibition from the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.
The monarch appeared to be rekindling his purportedly warm relationship with the French President, ticking off one key purpose of the state visit.
After a tour of Westminster Abbey, the President and First Lady were treated to a lavish state banquet in their honour, where the royals and their guests donned formal and ceremonial attire and gave speeches.
In his speech, Charles championed the crucial partnership between France and the UK amid a "multitude of complex threats".
Mr Macron took to X and echoed Charles' speech, saying his visit to the UK was "an important moment for our two nations."
The Macrons' three-day state visit will culminate in a summit with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday.
Mr Macron and Mr Starmer are expected to discuss how to stop migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.
The talks will also include plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine.
Charles' bloodshot eyes follow reports Charles' cancer is at bay but incurable, according to veteran royal insider Camilla Tonminey.
'The talk now is that he may die 'with' cancer, but not 'of' cancer following a rigorous treatment program,' she told The Telegraph in June.
She said 'tentative' planning for Charles' 80th birthday celebrations in 2028 is going ahead with the expectation the King's cancer will continue to be managed.
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The Advertiser
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Trump late on Thursday ramped up his tariff assault on Canada, saying the US would impose a 35 per cent tariff on imports next month and planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15 per cent or 20 per cent on most other trading partners. The S&P 500 eased from a record high the day before, with caution prevailing after Trump on Thursday imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Brazil and as the European Union braced for a possible letter from Trump with details on fresh tariffs. "The increased rhetoric around tariffs, what we've seen this week regarding Brazil and Canada, is certainly elevating the anxiety level," Michael James, an equity sales trader at Rosenblatt Securities, said. "People had become a little more accustomed to the lack of negative tariff headlines, and we've kind of been reminded that the tariff picture is still there." Shares of Nvidia rose 0.5 per cent to a record high, lifting its stock market value to $US4.02 trillion ($A6.10 trillion). 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Kraft Heinz closed 2.5 per cent higher after the Wall Street Journal reported the company is preparing to break itself up as the packaged food maker grapples with persistent weakness in demand for its higher-priced brands. Across the US stock market, declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by a 2.8-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 12 new highs and 4 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 58 new highs and 43 new lows. Wall Street has ended lower, with Meta Platforms weighing on the S&P 500 after President Donald Trump intensified his tariff offensive against Canada, amplifying the uncertainty swirling around US trade policy. Trump late on Thursday ramped up his tariff assault on Canada, saying the US would impose a 35 per cent tariff on imports next month and planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15 per cent or 20 per cent on most other trading partners. The S&P 500 eased from a record high the day before, with caution prevailing after Trump on Thursday imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Brazil and as the European Union braced for a possible letter from Trump with details on fresh tariffs. "The increased rhetoric around tariffs, what we've seen this week regarding Brazil and Canada, is certainly elevating the anxiety level," Michael James, an equity sales trader at Rosenblatt Securities, said. "People had become a little more accustomed to the lack of negative tariff headlines, and we've kind of been reminded that the tariff picture is still there." Shares of Nvidia rose 0.5 per cent to a record high, lifting its stock market value to $US4.02 trillion ($A6.10 trillion). Drone makers AeroVironment and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions jumped about 11 per cent after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a surge in drone production and deployment. The S&P 500 declined 0.33 per cent to end the session at 6,259.75 points, the Nasdaq declined 0.22 per cent to 20,585.53 points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.63 per cent to 44,371.51 points. Volume on US exchanges was relatively light, with 15.4 billion shares traded, compared with an average of 18.3 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. For the week, the S&P 500 dipped 0.3 per cent, the Dow lost about 1.0 per cent and the Nasdaq slipped 0.1 per cent. The S&P 500 is up about 6.0 per cent so far in 2025. Investors will soon turn their attention to second-quarter reporting season, with a focus on how Trump's on-again off-again tariffs are affecting major US companies. Among the big names reporting results next week are JPMorgan, Netflix and Johnson & Johnson. Analysts on average expect S&P 500 companies to increase their second-quarter earnings by 5.7 per cent, year over year, with big gains from tech companies and declining profits in energy, consumer staples and consumer discretionary, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. "We believe expectations are a bit low for S&P 500 earnings. Much of the second quarter was marked with tariff and trade issues and that may have caused some dislocations in earnings," said Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer, Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management. Levi Strauss & Co jumped 11 per cent after the apparel seller raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts and beat quarterly estimates. Meta Platforms shares closed 1.3 per cent lower after Reuters reported that the company is very unlikely to offer more changes to its pay-or-consent model, increasing the risk of fresh European Union antitrust charges and hefty daily fines. Kraft Heinz closed 2.5 per cent higher after the Wall Street Journal reported the company is preparing to break itself up as the packaged food maker grapples with persistent weakness in demand for its higher-priced brands. Across the US stock market, declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by a 2.8-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 12 new highs and 4 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 58 new highs and 43 new lows. Wall Street has ended lower, with Meta Platforms weighing on the S&P 500 after President Donald Trump intensified his tariff offensive against Canada, amplifying the uncertainty swirling around US trade policy. Trump late on Thursday ramped up his tariff assault on Canada, saying the US would impose a 35 per cent tariff on imports next month and planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15 per cent or 20 per cent on most other trading partners. The S&P 500 eased from a record high the day before, with caution prevailing after Trump on Thursday imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Brazil and as the European Union braced for a possible letter from Trump with details on fresh tariffs. "The increased rhetoric around tariffs, what we've seen this week regarding Brazil and Canada, is certainly elevating the anxiety level," Michael James, an equity sales trader at Rosenblatt Securities, said. "People had become a little more accustomed to the lack of negative tariff headlines, and we've kind of been reminded that the tariff picture is still there." Shares of Nvidia rose 0.5 per cent to a record high, lifting its stock market value to $US4.02 trillion ($A6.10 trillion). Drone makers AeroVironment and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions jumped about 11 per cent after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a surge in drone production and deployment. The S&P 500 declined 0.33 per cent to end the session at 6,259.75 points, the Nasdaq declined 0.22 per cent to 20,585.53 points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.63 per cent to 44,371.51 points. Volume on US exchanges was relatively light, with 15.4 billion shares traded, compared with an average of 18.3 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. For the week, the S&P 500 dipped 0.3 per cent, the Dow lost about 1.0 per cent and the Nasdaq slipped 0.1 per cent. The S&P 500 is up about 6.0 per cent so far in 2025. Investors will soon turn their attention to second-quarter reporting season, with a focus on how Trump's on-again off-again tariffs are affecting major US companies. Among the big names reporting results next week are JPMorgan, Netflix and Johnson & Johnson. Analysts on average expect S&P 500 companies to increase their second-quarter earnings by 5.7 per cent, year over year, with big gains from tech companies and declining profits in energy, consumer staples and consumer discretionary, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. "We believe expectations are a bit low for S&P 500 earnings. Much of the second quarter was marked with tariff and trade issues and that may have caused some dislocations in earnings," said Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer, Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management. Levi Strauss & Co jumped 11 per cent after the apparel seller raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts and beat quarterly estimates. Meta Platforms shares closed 1.3 per cent lower after Reuters reported that the company is very unlikely to offer more changes to its pay-or-consent model, increasing the risk of fresh European Union antitrust charges and hefty daily fines. Kraft Heinz closed 2.5 per cent higher after the Wall Street Journal reported the company is preparing to break itself up as the packaged food maker grapples with persistent weakness in demand for its higher-priced brands. Across the US stock market, declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by a 2.8-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 12 new highs and 4 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 58 new highs and 43 new lows.
Sydney Morning Herald
14 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Stop the boats? Outrage as France and UK try a new deal on asylum seekers
The agreement means the UK will accept those who can show they have a case for asylum in the UK – for example, if they have family there. For each one accepted, the UK would send another one back to France from the cohort with no equivalent claim to settle in the UK. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, seen as the strongest opponent of Starmer with significant support in the polls, has attacked the deal as a 'humiliation' for Britain because it would not discourage boats. Farage, a key advocate for the popular vote to take the UK out of the European Union, was also infuriated by Macron's claim in London that the migrant flows were bigger because of Brexit. 'Since Brexit the UK has no migratory agreement with the EU,' Macron said. This gave migrants an incentive to cross the channel, he said, and meant the British public now experienced the 'precise opposite' of what they were promised under Brexit. EU members including Italy and Greece have warned against the French deal with the UK because it involves sending asylum seekers back to an EU country, raising a potential block on the trial. French political figures attacked the deal on the grounds it would send too many back to their country, with the Mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, saying France had 'handed everything' to the British. In the UK, however, Conservative MP and shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the outcome would have 'no deterrent effect' because too few would be sent back to France. France and the UK have agreed on ways to respond to asylum seeker boats, leading to outrage from Farage when he witnessed a 'handover' in the channel to transfer people in lifejackets to a British vessel. Unlike the Australian policy on the country's western and northern approaches, there is no UK or French policy to turn boats around or intercept the boats and take the asylum seekers to third countries. In a provocative move last weekend, French police waded into the water on a beach south of Calais and used a knife to slash the inflatable hull. A video of the incident, taken by the BBC, showed more than a dozen asylum seekers getting out of the boat and heading back to the beach. The UK Refugee Council called for better treatment of those fleeing persecution but offered conditional support for the deal struck in London. Loading 'Men, women and children fleeing oppressive regimes like the Taliban and brutal civil wars such as in Sudan should not need to risk their lives on boats to reach safety in Britain,' the council said. 'The groundbreaking one-for-one deal with France is an important first step, but it's vital that it is implemented in a way that treats all those seeking asylum fairly and with respect and dignity. For now, it's too soon to determine what the impact will be.' The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the agreement could offer protection to asylum seekers on both sides of the English Channel if it was done in the right way, but it said that would depend on the operational details. The UNHCR warned that 86 people died last year trying to reach the UK on the small boats. 'Men, women and children continue to risk their lives at the hands of smugglers and traffickers,' it said. 'As of 6 July this year, around 21,117 people have already made the crossing and tragically, at least 14 people have lost their lives at sea.'
