France is to gift a prized horse from the President’s Garde Républicaine to the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee, along with a ceremonial saddle and cavalry sabre.
Emmanuel Macron reportedly personally chose a seven-year-old, grey Selle Français called Fabuleux de Maucourt.
In a statement, the French embassy in London said the horse was part of Mr Macron’s escort on the Champs-Elysées during the VE Day commemorations earlier this month.
It will be presented in Windsor to the Master of the Horse, one of the Royal household’s most senior dignitaries.
"It is the flagship horse of the regiment’s cavalry," General Eric Bio Farina told Paris Match magazine.
"I wanted a well-behaved horse representative of the regiment that would please the Queen. I believe she is very partial to grey horses. I’m sure that nothing could please her more."
The French embassy added: "France wanted to be involved in events taking place in the UK and the Commonwealth states as a way of paying tribute to the Queen, of whom the French are very fond, and celebrating Franco-British friendship."
The Queen has had a keen interest in horses throughout her life and has won four of the five flat racing classics, with the Derby the only trophy to elude her.
To mark her 96th birthday in April, the Queen was pictured with two of her fell ponies ahead of a special Royal Windsor Horse Show, called A Gallop through History, featuring more than 500 horses.
In other events to celebrate the monarch’s 70-year reign, the French embassy planted a Malus "Royal Beauty" apple tree from Normandy on 6 February 2022 - the anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne.
The gesture "highlighted the UK’s historic ties with Normandy, of which apples are a speciality", the embassy said. A French oak tree will also be planted this autumn in Kensington Gardens.
In France, Mr Macron will preside over a ceremony rekindling the flame of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe on Thursday.
And to mirror the bonfires and beacons which are due to be lit in the UK in the Queen’s honour, buildings on the UK-facing coasts of Hauts-de-France will be lit up on Thursday evening.
The embassy said the "illuminations will highlight our physical closeness and our desire to be part of this key national moment".
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