Le Touquet: French airport changes name in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II after King Charles approves request

An airport in northern France will be renamed in honour of former monarch Queen Elizabeth II after King Charles II signed off on the tribute.

The Touquet-Paris-Plage airport will be renamed to Elizabeth II Le Touquet-Paris-Plage International Airport. An inauguration date has not been set as of yet.

The resort town of Le Touquet, which is located on the norther coast of the country and around 130 miles from Paris, proposed the tribute to the "Great Queen" as a recognition of the "most British of French resorts".

Links between the town and the UK have been strong for many years. It became a popular holiday destination with famous Britons in the 1930s, including playwright Noel Coward, while in the current day French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte own a holiday home in Le Touquet.

The Queen is said to have had a fondness for France, and would often visit Le Touquet as a young girl with her uncle, Edward VIII, to enjoy horseback riding and sandyachting.

The proposal to change the airport name in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II was made eight days after her death on 8 September 2022. Le Touquet's town hall confirmed in a statement that the request has now been approved by the King.

The statement read: "That King Charles III accepted the proposal of the mayor of Le Touquet further reinforces the strategy of the latter who wants to affirm Le Touquet as 'the most British of French resorts'."

Officials in the town hope that the renaming will further strengthen links with the UK. It comes as Le Touquet prepares to welcome the English Rugby Team for their training camp ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France next month.