Pomp, pageantry and politesse greet French President Macron in display of British royals' soft power

LONDON (AP) — The French Tricolor and Britain’s Union flag hang from the standards near Windsor Castle. The carriages are primed, the tiaras polished.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, arrived in Britain on Tuesday at the start of a state visit as the two countries highlight their long friendship with conspicuous displays of military pomp, golden carriages and royal toasts.

The backdrop for day one is Windsor Castle, a royal fortress for over 900 years that remains a working palace today.

Prince William and the Princess of Wales greeted the Macrons at RAF Northolt outside London. King Charles III later formally welcomed the couple later at Windsor Castle, where they rode in a horse-drawn carriage and reviewed a military guard of honor. The first day ended with a state banquet at the castle.

Charles and Queen Camilla traveled to France in September 2023 in a visit that highlighted the historic ties between Britain and its closest European neighbor.

That royal trip came after years of sometimes prickly relations strained by Britain’s exit from the European Union and disagreements over the growing number of migrants crossing the English Channel on small boats.

President Macron’s arrival in Britain marks the first state visit by a French head of state since President Nicolas Sarkozy traveled to London in 2008.

State visits are ceremonial meetings between heads of state that are used to honor friendly nations and sometimes smooth relations between rivals. While the king formally issues the invitation for a state visit, he does so on the advice of the elected government.

State visits to Britain are particularly prized by heads of state because they come with a full complement of royal pomp and circumstance, including military reviews, carriage rides and a glittering state banquet hosted by the monarch.

The events normally take place in and around Buckingham Palace in central London. But the Macrons will stay at Windsor Castle, to the west of the capital. Buckingham Palace is undergoing extensive remodeling.

This is just the fifth state visit since King Charles ascended the throne in September 2022.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had the honor of receiving the first invitation for a state visit during the new king’s reign and spent three days in Britain in November 2022. The leaders of Qatar, Japan and South Korea have also received the full royal treatment.

More controversially, Charles has invited U.S. President Donald Trump to make an unprecedented second state visit to Britain, which is expected to take place in the autumn.

While Prime Minister Keir Starmer is trying to bolster relations with the U.S., some U.K. lawmakers have questioned whether Trump should be awarded such an honor after he torpedoed long-standing norms for global trade, refused to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine and proposed moving Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip.

“An invitation for a state visit is highly prized amongst world leaders,’’ said Craig Prescott, a constitutional law expert at Royal Holloway, University of London, who focuses on the political role of the monarchy. “Now, it won’t necessarily turn an enemy into an ally, but it can be part of that broader diplomatic move to maybe get the best out of someone.

"It’s that cherry on the top, but at times it could be a very valuable cherry.”

Queen Elizabeth II, Charles’ mother, hosted 112 state visits during her seven decades on the throne.

State visits are nothing if not a showcase for the British military, which has a global reputation for putting on displays of spit-and-polish precision by soldiers wearing their iconic scarlet tunics and bearskin hats.

Active duty troops who rotate from operational assignments to ceremonial duties put in thousands of hours of training to ensure everything goes off without a hitch.

Some 950 service members from all branches of the U.K. military will take part in the ceremonies, including 380 on street-lining duties and 180 in the Guard of Honor at Windsor Castle. Six military bands will perform a selection of both British and French music.

The display is seen by the British government as a nod to close defense and diplomatic ties but also hints at the ambition for the visit, which may see new defense and security commitments.

But one horse will get special attention. The Macrons will visit Fabuleu de Maucour, a horse given by the French leader to the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, when the nation celebrated the Platinum Jubilee marking her 70 years on the throne.

Count on the French language to be used both in private and in public.

King Charles made a point of speaking French when he addressed lawmakers in the Senate chamber in Paris on the second day of his visit to France in 2023. During that speech, the king said the alliance between Britain and France was more important than ever as he recalled how the two nations had worked together to defeat the Nazi regime.

Charles was a frequent visitor to France before becoming king, making 35 official visits to the country as heir to the throne.

Britain's Queen Camilla, from left, King Charles III with France's President Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte arrive for the State Banquet at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Chris Jackson/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's King Charles III speaks at the State Banquet for President of France Emmanuel Macron, left, and his wife Brigitte Macron, at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, England, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Yui Mok/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla welcome France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, and his wife Brigitte Macron, right, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP)

Britain's Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales welcome France's President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, left, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III, 3rd right, Queen Camilla, center left, Prince William, second right, and Kate, Princess of Wales, right, welcome France's President Emmanuel Macron, 4th right, and his wife Brigitte Macron, left, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III, Queen Camilla, French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, and his wife Brigitte Macron, right, attend a welcome ceremony, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Dylan Martinez/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III and France's President Emmanuel Macron, right, travel in a 1902 State Landau on a state drive to Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III, 3rd right, Queen Camilla, Prince William 3rd left, and Kate, Princess of Wales, left, walk with French President Emmanuel Macron, second right, and his wife Brigitte Macron, right, during a welcome ceremony, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Dylan Martinez/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla welcome France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, and his wife Brigitte Macron, right, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III and French President Emmanuel Macron, left, review the Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle as part of a welcome ceremony for the French President and his wife Brigitte Macron, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Dylan Martinez/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla welcome French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte to Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Tuesday, July 8, 2025.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

Britain's King Charles III, center left, and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Jaimi Joy/Pool via AP)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — With the start of the New Year squarely behind us, it's once again time for the annual CES trade show to shine a spotlight on the latest tech companies plan on offering in 2026.

The multi-day event, organized by the Consumer Technology Association, kicks off this week in Las Vegas, where advances across industries like robotics, healthcare, vehicles, wearables, gaming and more are set to be on display.

Artificial intelligence will be anchored in nearly everything, again, as the tech industry explores offerings consumers will want to buy. AI industry heavyweight Jensen Huang will be taking the stage to showcase Nvidia's latest productivity solutions, and AMD CEO Lisa Su will keynote to “share her vision for delivering future AI solutions.” Expect AI to come up in other keynotes, like from Lenovo's CEO, Yuanqing Yang.

The AI industry is out in full force tackling issues in healthcare, with a particular emphasis on changing individual health habits to treat conditions — such as Beyond Medicine's prescription app focused on a particular jaw disorder — or addressing data shortages in subjects such as breast milk production.

Expect more unveils around domestic robots too. Korean tech giant LG already has announced it will show off a helper bot named “ CLOiD,” which allegedly will handle a range of household tasks. Hyundai also is announcing a major push on robotics and manufacturing advancements. Extended reality, basically a virtual training ground for robots and other physical AI, is also in the buzz around CES.

In 2025, more than 141,000 attendees from over 150 countries, regions, and territories attended the CES. Organizers expect around the same numbers for this year’s show, with more than 3,500 exhibitors across the floor space this week.

The AP spoke with CTA Executive Chair and CEO Gary Shapiro about what to expect for CES 2026. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Well, we have a lot at this year's show.

Obviously, using AI in a way that makes sense for people. We’re seeing a lot in robotics. More robots and humanoid-looking robots than we’ve ever had before.

We also see longevity in health, there’s a lot of focus on that. All sorts of wearable devices for almost every part of the body. Technology is answering healthcare’s gaps very quickly and that’s great for everyone.

Mobility is big with not only self-driving vehicles but also with boats and drones and all sorts of other ways of getting around. That’s very important.

And of course, content creation is always very big.

You are seeing humanoid robots right now. It sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t.

But yes, there are more and more humanoid robots. And when we talk about CES 5, 10, 15, 20 years now, we’re going to see an even larger range of humanoid robots.

Obviously, last year we saw a great interest in them. The number one product of the show was a little robotic dog that seems so life-like and fun, and affectionate for people that need that type of affection.

But of course, the humanoid robots are just one aspect of that industry. There’s a lot of specialization in robot creation, depending on what you want the robot to do. And robots can do many things that humans can’t.

AI is the future of creativity.

Certainly AI itself may be arguably creative, but the human mind is so unique that you definitely get new ideas that way. So I think the future is more of a hybrid approach, where content creators are working with AI to craft variations on a theme or to better monetize what they have to a broader audience.

We’re seeing all sorts of different devices that are implementing AI. But we have a special focus at this show, for the first time, on the disability community. Verizon set this whole stage up where we have all different ways of taking this technology and having it help people with disabilities and older people.

Well, there’s definitely no bubble when it comes to what AI can do. And what AI can do is perform miracles and solve fundamental human problems in food production and clean air and clean water. Obviously in healthcare, it’s gonna be overwhelming.

But this was like the internet itself. There was a lot of talk about a bubble, and there actually was a bubble. The difference is that in late 1990s there were basically were no revenue models. Companies were raising a lot of money with no plans for revenue.

These AI companies have significant revenues today, and companies are investing in it.

What I’m more concerned about, honestly, is not Wall Street and a bubble. Others can be concerned about that. I’m concerned about getting enough energy to process all that AI. And at this show, for the first time, we have a Korean company showing the first ever small-scale nuclear-powered energy creation device. We expect more and more of these people rushing to fill this gap because we need the energy, we need it clean and we need a kind of all-of-the-above solution.

A Coro breastfeeding monitor is pictured at a Coroflo booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Yonbo X1 robots are pictured at the X-Orgin booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

A Tombot robotic puppy is pictured at a Tombot booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

People arrive at the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)