First World War.com - Vintage Video - King George V's State Visit to France, 1914

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King George V on horseback Vintage Video: King George V's State Visit to France, 1914
Updated - Saturday, 22 November, 2003

Anglo-French diplomatic relations improved steadily in the first decade of the 20th century. The signing of the Entente Cordiale between the two countries in 1904 led to a definite warming in dealings between the governments of the two countries, a development viewed with some concern in Berlin.

To celebrate this improvement in 1914 King George V undertook a state visit to France. His visit was widely regarded as a success with the British monarch keenly welcomed by the French populace during his stay.

Click here to view film footage of King George V and Raymond Poincare, the French President, touring Paris in an open carriage, enthusiastically applauded by the city's populace (Windows Media, 22 seconds, 276KB).

A "conchie" was slang used to refer to a conscientious objector.