Sarkozy cuts short his stay with Queen

After all the hand-wringing over whether Nicolas Sarkozy would bring his then-mistress Carla Bruni with him on his first state visit to Britain, it seems the French President has cut short his two-night stay at Windsor Castle in March to a whirlwind one-night stopover.

The Queen should not take it personally: 'Speedy Sarko' or 'the hyper-President' as he is known, has repeatedly annoyed foreign states by cutting short planned trips. In his nine months as President, Sarkozy has reduced a state visit to India from four days to two and last month turned his visit to Romania into a mere few hours. This week, he cancelled a scheduled summit with Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor. French aides say the President is simply impatient and dislikes attending ceremonies and paying courtesy visits. He also prefers to sleep in his own bed and does not like spending time away from his job in France.

Sarkozy and his new wife Carla will still have time to complete most of their original itinerary in England, including a formal welcome from the Queen and a trip to Westminster Abbey to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. On their first evening the couple will be guests of honour at a state banquet at Windsor Castle and on the following day Sarkozy is expected to have lunch at Downing Street with Gordon Brown, followed by the traditional banquet at Guildhall given by the Lord Mayor of London.

Buckingham Palace is putting on a brave face after being told of the change on Monday. "It does not cause us a problem," a spokesman for the Queen said. "We always try to accommodate our guests. We offer the dates, it's up to the visitor whether or not to accept."

Meanwhile, Sarkozy has said he should have resisted the temptation to swear at a bystander at an agricultural fair, as reported here yesterday, but stopped short of apologising. "It is difficult even when you are the president not to respond to an insult," Sarkozy told Le Parisien. "Just because you are the president doesn't mean you become a doormat."