A tired King Charles will now 'recuperate' at Balmoral following his mother's funeral before resuming his duties - with France reportedly set to be his first foreign trip. 

The new monarch, who has entered a seven-day period of royal mourning, is said to have chosen the country as a surprise first destination after bonding with Emmanuel Macron over environmental issues.  

Rather than visiting one of his Commonwealth realms on his first overseas trip, Charles is increasingly expected to head to Paris as soon as next month in a tour that could also include Germany. 

The Foreign Office, which makes the final decision on royal visits, is said to be keen to use the diplomatic power of the monarchy to repair relations with major European neighbours post-Brexit.   

The King and Queen Consort arrived in Scotland yesterday for a short break to mourn the loss of the late Queen. 

King Charles and Mr Macron are said to share a 'warm friendship', and last year shared a platform at Cop26 in Glasgow to encourage what the royal called a 'precious opportunity' to help save the planet. 

The French president was widely praised for his touching tribute to the Queen in English, which praised her 'wisdom and empathy', adding: ‘to you, she was your Queen. To us, she was the Queen'.  

Any trip to France would be followed by a long-haul trip to a Commonwealth realm, it has previously been reported - with the King needing to make up for lost time after Queen Elizabeth II was unable to travel for seven years due to health problems.