The Contending Kingdoms of France and England: 1066-1904

THE HOPES FOR ENDURING peace expressed by Charles VI of France in Shakespeare's play have only really been achieved in the century since the signing of the Entente Cordiale in 1904. Franco-British relations until that date have often been characterised as unremittingly hostile. Yet, as Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister, noted in 2003, the story is more complex and subtle. He observed that since 1904 the peoples of Britain and France 'have built a unique relationship, made up of a mixture of irritation arid fascination'. His words apply equally well to long periods before 1904. Rather than being simply hostile, Franco-British relations are perhaps better described as ambivalent - that is, having equally positive and negative aspects at different times and circumstances. Across the whole range of their endeavours, from diplomacy and warfare to trade, language, food and clothing, each side has indeed found the other endlessly irritating and fascinating.