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When Marianne and Britannia Meet Exhibition

When Marianne and Britannia Meet Exhibition

28 March - 27 Apr

Books & Ideas

In partnership with the UK’s National Archives and the French Diplomatic Archives, the Institut français du Royaume-Uni presents When Marianne and Britannia Meet, an exhibition marking the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale, from 28 March to 27 April 2024. Tracing the history of the Entente Cordiale agreements and their global repercussions, the exhibition brings together for the first time, or reunites, archives of great historical and symbolic significance.

Visitors will discover remarkable documents (archives, cartoons, etc.), which will immerse them in the Belle Époque and the diplomatic negotiations which aimed at building peace between the two countries.

The exhibition has been curated by Charlotte Faucher (University of Bristol) and Guillaume Perissol (Institut français du Royaume-Uni) and made possible thanks to the generous support of Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking and the Friends of the French Institute Trust.

Guided tours

Sat 13 Apr – 14.00, 15.00 & 16.00

Sat 20 Apr – 14.00, 15.00 & 16.00

Book your free slot

Price: Free
Location: Institut français du Royaume-Uni
More information: Archive Exhibition
Opening hours: Wed & Fri: 13.00 – 18.00 | Thu: 13.00 – 19.00 | Sat: 12.00 – 18.00 | Sun – Tue: closed

The exhibition will be presented in a smaller format:

in the Alliance française’s UK network, from April 2024
in several schools in the UK
at the French Diplomatic Archives in Paris (date TBA)

The Entente Cordiale in 8 dates

1843: Queen Victoria visits King Louis-Philippe, who speaks of an “entente cordiale”
Queen Victoria’s visit to King Louis-Philippe at the Château d'Eu in Normandy in September 1843 signalled that Franco-British relations were improving. The Queen was the first British monarch to go to France since Henry VIII almost 300 years earlier, and during her visit Louis-Philippe spoke of an “entente cordiale” between the two kingdoms. Three years earlier, the two countries had been on the brink of war over the Far East question when tensions between the Ottoman Empire (supported by Britain) and Egypt (supported by France) soared, and social resentment had been running high.

Scene from the first Entente Cordiale: the young Queen Victoria and King Louis-Philippe (Revue franco-anglaise, 1910)
BnF, 4-ICO THE-4398
1898: The Fashoda crisis
In 1898 the crisis over Fashoda (a small town in the Upper Nile region) pitted the British and French imperial powers against each other as they sought to take control of the region and have their zone of influence there recognized. Following the arrival in Sudan of British troops led by General Kitchener, and seeing that the balance of military and diplomatic power lay in the United Kingdom’s favour, French troops (led by Major Marchand) evacuated Fashoda. Several months after the crisis was resolved, “antagonisms” between Major Marchand and Lord Kitchener continued to make the headlines, as on the cover of the Petit Illustré Amusant.

An image of antagonism. Major Marchand - Lord Kitchener, Le Petit Illustré Amusant (10 June 1899)
AMAE, La Courneuve, Bibliothèque – 53 G 1, n° 32
1899-1902: The Boer War
In the colonial war between the British army and the Boers, who were Afrikaans-speaking farmers, the French government remained neutral. However, French public opinion, still wounded by the Fashoda crisis, took the Boers’ side. Volunteers from the French branch of the International Peace Bureau founded in 1891 launched a petition to support the Boer cause, a symbol of resistance to British imperialism.

Petition launched on the initiative of the Bureau français de la paix, sent to the Foreign Minister in 1900
AMAE, La Courneuve, NS, Transvaal-Orange, carton 45
May 1903: Edouard VII’s visit to Paris
In May 1903, King Edward VII travelled to Paris to meet President Loubet. This was a key step in bringing France and Britain closer together, paving the way for the establishment of the Entente Cordiale. The atmosphere at the start of the royal visit may have been lukewarm, but by the end Parisians were much more welcoming. The Francophile King Edward gradually won them over, and as he passed in front of the Opera the crowds cheered “Good Old Teddy”: “Notre bon Édouard !”

The King of England in France: gala performance at the Paris Opera, Le Petit Journal (10 May 1903)
Private collection
July 1903: President Loubet’s visit to London
In a reciprocal visit, President Loubet travelled to England, where he was welcomed by the King. It was during this presidential visit, on 7 July, that the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Delcassé, who was accompanying Loubet on the trip, and his British counterpart, the Marquess of Lansdowne, had a meeting where they set out the general principle of a future Franco-British agreement. Soon afterwards, Delcassé proposed embarking on a comprehensive negotiation focusing on the colonial disputes between the two global powers. The cover of La Dépêche de Londres shows President Loubet’s official portrait, above which can be seen a uniformed King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra wearing a tiara. At the bottom left is French Ambassador Paul Cambon, and at the bottom right Foreign Minister Théophile Delcassé, accompanying the President as tradition dictated under the Third Republic.

Programme of President Loubet’s visit to Britain, La Dépêche de Londres (5 July 1903)
Private collection
The agreements of 8 April 1904
In the spring of 1904, French Ambassador Paul Cambon and the Marquess of Lansdowne, the British Foreign Secretary, signed three documents: a Declaration respecting Egypt and Morocco, a Declaration concerning Siam, Madagascar and the New Hebrides, and a Convention respecting Newfoundland, and West and Central Africa. While the purpose was essentially to settle colonial disputes, the documents were more far-reaching and helped to build a long-lasting Franco-British friendship.

Declaration on Egypt and Morocco, with secret articles and a draft decree by the Khedive of Egypt, signed in London by Paul Cambon and Lord Lansdowne (8 April 1904)
AMAE, La Courneuve, Traités, Grande-Bretagne, n° 19040037
1908 : Franco-British Exhibition in London
More than 8 million visitors came to the Franco-British Exhibition, held in west London from May to November 1908. The fair, which took place in grandiose whitewashed buildings hence the name White City, showcased the two countries’ commercial, imperial and industrial modernity. Visitors could enjoy the exhibition’s restaurants, fairgrounds and pleasure gardens. French President Armand Fallières and King Edward VII, who visited the exhibition together, described it as proof that the Entente Cordiale was also based on strong industrial, commercial and cultural cooperation.

The Court of Honour at the Franco-British Exhibition of 1908, Livre d’or de l’Entente cordiale (1908)
AMAE, La Courneuve, Bibliothèque, 88Fz 1
1914: The alliance and the First Word War
The 1904 agreements between France and Britain brought the two countries together but did not immediately materialise into an alliance. Yet, in the early 1910s French ambassador Paul Cambon and British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey worked together to ensure more cooperation between the two governments, especially in the event of international crises. This collaboration was sustained by dialogues between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris and the Foreign Office in London, and by the visit of newly elected president Raymond Poincaré to London in 1913. After entering the war against Germany in August 1914, France and Britain formalised the alliance through the Treaty of London, also signed with Russia on 5 September 1914.

President Raymond Poincaré’s visit to London in 1913. Photo: Newspaper Illustrations
AMAE, La Courneuve, Fonds iconographique, série H- Grande Bretagne, H1a, n°53

Watch Co-Curator Charlotte Faucher Talking about the Exhibition

French historian Charlotte Faucher explains the Entente Cordiale

Watch the Best of the Opening

More resources

You can find a selection of books on the history of the Entente Cordiale at La Médiathèque.

Explore the catalogue