In July 2025, after French President Emmanuel Macron made a state visit to the U.K., a claim (archived) circulated online that Macron broke royal protocol when he walked in front of King Charles III while inspecting British troops on July 8.
One X user, who shared the claim in French, wrote (translated by DeepL.com) "Emmanuel Macron breaks royal protocol by walking in front of King Charles III. This impostor does not represent France, and no one can stand him in France or anywhere else in the world." The claim circulated alongside a clip from the British news outlet GB News' coverage (archived) of Macron inspecting British guards.
The claim circulated widely on X (archived) and also appeared on Reddit (archived) and TikTok (archived).
We found no evidence that Macron broke royal protocol by walking in front of Charles during the July 8 troop inspection. Commentators in the GB News clip noted that U.S. President Donald Trump faced "unfair" criticism for doing the same during a state visit in 2018. Including Macron, there have been five state visits to the U.K. during Charles' reign. Images and video from all five visits showed the foreign leader walking in front of Charles when inspecting troops, indicating that this may in fact be the protocol, if one exists. Therefore, we rate this claim false.
We reached out to Buckingham Palace and the French Presidency to ask for their comments on the alleged protocol breach and await a reply.
Former U.K. Attorney General Sir Michael Ellis, who spoke toward the end of the GB News clip, called criticism of Trump in 2018 "unfair." Ellis also said there was nothing out of the ordinary about Macron taking the lead (time code 03:04), "The reality is, this is an honor for the visiting head of state and therefore it is, on this occasion, President Macron who is inspecting the guard and it's completely in order for him, therefore, to be given the precedent. That's part of being the host and him being the guest."
There have been five state visits (including Macron) to the U.K. since the start of Charles' reign in 2022.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa came to the U.K. on a state visit in November 2022. A photo from Getty Images, a reputable picture agency, showed Ramaphosa walking in front of Charles while inspecting troops on Horse Guards Parade in London.
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the U.K. a year later, in November 2023. Footage from that visit showed Yoon also walking in front of King Charles while inspecting troops. Buckingham Palace published a photo from the inspection that also showed Yoon walking in front.
Japanese Emperor Naruhito followed Yoon with another state visit in June 2024. Again, both Buckingham Palace photos and news agency footage showed Naruhito inspecting troops while walking in front of Charles.
The Emir of the State of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the most recent state visit before Macron, inspected troops on Horse Guards Parade on Dec. 3, 2024. Again, news footage from the event showed the Emir walking in front of Charles to inspect the troops.
In sum, while Snopes did not find codified royal protocols governing the exact scenario Macron faced during his state visit, based on the precedent set by four previous foreign leaders there was no evidence that Macron broke any written or unwritten rules.