In 1903, King Edward VII journeyed to Paris. Crowds lining the streets on his arrival made clear that he was not welcome. But he maintained an imperturbable demeanour during the ride to the Elysée palace and for the duration of his 96-hour visit. In The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman reports that the king charmed the French without let-up. “Everywhere he made gracious and tactful speeches about his friendship and admiration for the French, their ‘glorious traditions’, their ‘beautiful city’, his ‘sincere pleasure’ in his visit, his belief that old misunderstandings are ‘happily over and forgotten’” – and all in perfect French.
1903年，英王爱德华七世(King Edward VII)出访巴黎。在他抵达时，街道两侧围观民众的态度明确表明，他在这里不受欢迎。但英王在前往爱丽舍宫途中以及在长达96小时的访法期间，始终保持着泰然自若的风度。芭芭拉•塔奇曼(Barbara Tuchman)在《八月炮火》(The Guns of August)一书中记述道，爱德华七世片刻不停的施展魅力，迷倒了法国人。“在他所到的每处地方，他都发表了亲切而机敏的讲话，表达了对法国人的友好和钦佩之情，谈到法国的‘光荣传统’和‘美丽城市’，称自己在访问期间感到‘由衷的快乐’，还表示相信英法两国已经‘一笑泯恩仇’”；而且，他是用娴熟的法语发表这些讲话的。