French airport Touquet-Paris-Plage serving ‘the most British of French resorts’ is to be renamed after the late Queen Elizabeth II, with the blessing of the King.
Touquet-Paris-Plage which is located on the coast around 40 miles south of Calais, prides itself on its close links to the country on the opposite side of the Channel.
When the monarch died on September 8 last year, bringing her record-breaking reign of more than 70 years to an end, leaders in the town wrote to the Crown requesting permission to pay tribute to her by changing the name of its airport.
King Charles granted the permission on Monday, and Touquet-Paris-Plage airport will soon become Elizabeth II Le Touquet-Paris-Plage International Airport.
No date for the inauguration of the building has been set yet.
Le Touquet town hall said in a statement the move would highlight its links to ‘a great Queen’ and the wider royal family.
Edward VIII, who abdicated as king in 1936 before his coronation, was a regular visitor to the seaside resort where he enjoyed sand-yachting and horse-riding.
The town hall said he was occasionally joined by his niece, the young Elizabeth, who was yet to become Queen.
Town mayor Daniel Fasquelle said: ‘It is with great pride that we announce that His Majesty King Charles III has granted his authorization for the denomination of our airport as Aeroport International Elizabeth II du Touquet-Paris-Plage.’
In the first half of the 20th Century, Le Touquet became a fashionable destination for high-flying Brits, including Winston Churchill, playwright Noël Coward and science fiction author H.G. Wells.
P.G. Wodehouse, who created Jeeves and Wooster, lived in a house near the town until the outbreak of World War Two.
The airport, which was built in the 1930s, gained a reputation as a link between the UK and the continent within the following two decades.
Next month, the England national team will use Le Touquet as their base for the Rugby World Cup, after picking the resort from three possible options.