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# Dinner at Versailles for Charles III and the electrification of the Hall of Mirrors in 1961
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/korol-karl-iii-sovershit-svoi-pervyi-gosudarstvennyi-vizit-vo-frantsiiu-v-kontse-marta-predpolozhitelno-27-chisla/
- Published: 2023-03-04T12:16:59.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T18:56:33.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Monarchies, Heritage, Society, Paris

King Charles III will make his first state visit to France at the end of March, reportedly on the 27th. To mark the royal visit, the official dinner will be held at the Palace of Versailles, as it has been in the preceding 150 years of Franco-British relations.

During the state visits of George VI in 1940 and Elizabeth II in 1957, however, the British monarchs were invited to a luncheon by daylight rather than to an evening dinner. The reason is that until 1961 the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, where official banquets with heads of state are held, had not been electrified, and so, to avoid the difficulties of illumination by candlelight, no dinners were given in the gallery. It was decided to electrify the Hall of Mirrors only in time for the visit of John F. Kennedy.

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_8541@04-03-2023_15-16-59.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_8542@04-03-2023_15-16-59.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_8543@04-03-2023_15-16-59.jpg)