'The love of an English mother for US Polari$ submarines.' During the 1960s, the US supply of nuclear weapons to the United Kingdom gives rise to mistrust and criticism from the USSR.

From 17 to 21 December 1962, the US President, John F. Kennedy, and the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, meet in Nassau, in the Bahamas, and conclude a special agreement in accordance with which the United States undertakes to supply Polaris missiles to the United Kingdom.

In 1962, the purchase of US Polaris missiles by the United Kingdom provokes tensions between Britain and France, as the British decision clashes with France’s desire to establish an independent nuclear deterrent in Europe.

On 22 December 1962, the day after the signing of the Nassau Agreement, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera comments on the United Kingdom’s decision to arm itself with US Polaris missiles and discusses the various views on nuclear deterrence in Europe.

On 26 December 1962, the French Permanent Delegation to NATO describes the issues concerning France with regard to the Nassau Agreement and, in particular, the sale of US Polaris missiles to France.

On 31 December 1962, Hervé Alphand, French Ambassador to Washington, informs Maurice Couve de Murville, French Foreign Minister, of the outcome of his meeting with the US President, John F. Kennedy, regarding the conclusions of the Nassau talks and the US initiative concerning the Polaris nuclear weapons system. The French Ambassador outlines the views of the US President, who sees the Nassau proposal as an ‘opening’, a kind of framework that he hopes France will be ready to consider and discuss, including the creation of a multilateral nuclear force.

On 15 September 1966, the shipyards in Barrow-in-Furness launch HMS Resolution, the first British Polaris-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. After a period of sea trials, the submarine successfully fires its first Polaris missile on 15 February 1968. HMS Resolution has 16 tubes for multiple-warhead Polaris A3 nuclear missiles, which have an estimated range of 4 600 km.

In his Memoirs, Lord Home, British Foreign Minister from 1960 to 1963, recalls the state of relations between Harold Macmillan and Charles de Gaulle at the time of the Polaris affair in 1962.

At a press conference held on 14 January 1963 at the Élysée Palace, French President Charles de Gaulle opposes the United Kingdom’s accession to the Common Market.

On 14 January 1963, General de Gaulle holds a press conference at the Elysée Palace, during which he declares his opposition to the United Kingdom's accession to the European Common Market.

‘Adenauer plays the role of mediator. “Charlie, we have to show goodwill: give Mac a bit, too, when we divide up the bull …”’ On 20 January 1963, the Austrian Socialist daily newspaper Arbeiter-Zeitung portrays the uncharitable attitude of General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, and of the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, towards the United Kingdom’s possible accession to the European Communities.

On 29 January 1963, during the course of the 17th ministerial meeting between the Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the United Kingdom, the French Foreign Minister, Maurice Couve de Murville, justifies France's unilateral decision, taken the previous day, to adjourn the negotiations.

On 29 January 1963, in an address given at the 17th ministerial meeting between the Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the United Kingdom, the British negotiator and Lord Privy Seal, Edward Heath, rejects the arguments put forward by Maurice Couve de Murville, French Foreign Minister, to justify the breakdown of the accession negotiations.

On 29 January 1963, Henri Fayat, Belgian Deputy Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Ministerial Conference attended by the Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the United Kingdom, officially announces the breakdown of the British accession negotiations.

‘French lessons for industrialised nations. Couve de Murville: “Look, they belong to Europe, but you don’t!”’ In 1963, Opland, Dutch cartoonist, illustrates France’s opposition to the United Kingdom joining the European Communities.

Illustrating the opposition of General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, to the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities, the British cartoonist, Michael Cummings, takes an ironic look at the list of French demands which the French Prime Minister, Georges Pompidou, must have accepted.

On 30 January 1963, the French Information Minister, Alain Peyrefitte, talks on RTL about the failure of the negotiations in Brussels for the United Kingdom’s accession to the Common Market.

On 30 January 1963, standing by General de Gaulle’s veto of the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities, Maurice Couve de Murville, French Foreign Minister, leaves the negotiating table.

In his memoirs, Alain Peyrefitte, General de Gaulle's former Information Minister, describes the preparations for the press conference held at the Élysée Palace on 14 January 1963 during which the French President announced his decision to bring to an end the diplomatic negotiations on the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities.

On 14 January 1963, General de Gaulle says ‘no’ to the United Kingdom’s entry into the Common Market. The veto makes the headlines in the British press the following day.

Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian Foreign Minister, responds to General de Gaulle’s veto on the United Kingdom’s accession to the Common Market, announced on 14 January 1963.

On 16 January 1963, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung analyses the hostile reactions towards France following General de Gaulle’s refusal to accept the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities.

On 16 January 1963, commenting on General de Gaulle’s veto of the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera outlines the opinions of the French press.

On 16 January 1963, reacting to General de Gaulle’s opposition to the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities, British cartoonist David Low takes an ironic look at the difficult accession negotiations. From left to right: Edward Heath, British negotiator and Lord Privy Seal, and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

In spite of General de Gaulle’s veto on the United Kingdom’s accession to the Common Market, announced on 14 January 1963, negotiations continue in Brussels three days later. However, they change from the technical to the political level, as indicated by RTL.

Following General de Gaulle’s veto of 14 January 1963, the negotiations for the United Kingdom’s accession to the Common Market continue with France on one side and Germany, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands on the other. This impasse leads to a suspension of talks with the United Kingdom.

On 18 January 1963, the British daily newspaper The Guardian considers General de Gaulle's veto of the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities as a sign of fear of increased US influence in Europe, given the ‘special relationship' between the United Kingdom and the USA.

On 19 January 1963, Karl Heinrich Knappstein, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington, gives a summary of his meeting with Dean Rusk, US Foreign Minister, on the situation in Western Europe in the light of Britain’s accession to the European Communities and with a view to improving relations between France and Germany.

On 21 January 1963, after France’s veto of the United Kingdom’s accession to the Common Market, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Parool analyses the hidden agenda behind General de Gaulle’s European and international policy.

On 22 January 1963, Eugène Schaus, the Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, sets out Luxembourg's stance with regard to the French veto of the United Kingdom's application for accession to the European Communities.

On 27 January 1963, in their coverage of the veto announced on 14 January by General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, against the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities, Radio Luxembourg's journalists describe the specific features of the British agricultural system and highlight the difficulties of the diplomatic negotiations held in Brussels.

On 28 January 1963, the French response to the United Kingdom’s application for accession to the European Communities leaves no doubt as to General de Gaulle’s stance on the matter.

On 29 January 1963, during the 17th ministerial meeting between the Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the United Kingdom, the Belgian Foreign Minister, Paul-Henri Spaak, criticises the French veto of the United Kingdom’s application for accession to the European Communities.

On 29 January 1963, during the 17th ministerial meeting between the Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the United Kingdom, the German Foreign Minister, Gerhard Schröder, laments the abrupt breakdown in negotiations on the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities.

‘Difficult ground in Brussels’. On 29 January 1963, following the veto exercised by General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, against the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities, cartoonist Stig illustrates the failure in Brussels of the negotiations for British accession and emphasises the difficulties involved in finding solutions to the crisis.

On 30 January 1963, the German Foreign Minister, Gerhard Schröder, sends a letter to the German diplomatic representations in which he informs them of the French veto and of the failure of the negotiations on the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities.

On 30 January 1963, after France’s veto, the Dutch daily newspaper Nieuwe Rotterdamse Courant considers the future of the accession United Kingdom’s accession process to the European Communities.

On 30 January 1963, commenting on the French veto of the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera relates the course of events that led to the failure of the diplomatic negotiations.

Gerhard Schröder, German Interior Ministor from 1953 to 1961 and Foreign Minister from 1961 to 1966.

‘The European fable (continued): the new minder’. This cartoon criticises the United Kingdom’s propensity to seek solace in the arms of the US President, John F. Kennedy, after General de Gaulle rejects its application for accession to the European Economic Community (EEC).

On 1 January 1963, Eugène Schaus, Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg and Minister for Foreign Affairs, sets out the Grand Duchy’s position with respect to France’s veto of the United Kingdom’s application for accession to the European Communities.

‘The trouble with you is that you’re a dangerous Trojan horse!’ Here, the cartoonist reveals the obstacles to Franco-British understanding and to the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities.

In January 1963, Harold Macmillan, British Prime Minister, collides with the French ‘iceberg’ de Gaulle, who refuses to approve the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities.

‘Hang on!’ In 1963, the cartoonist, Hans Geisen, illustrates French President General de Gaulle’s opposition to the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) and emphasises the Federal Republic of Germany’s intermediary role, which encourages the British not to lose hope.

‘Through the back door?’ In February 1963, after the first veto on the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities exercised a month earlier by General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, the German cartoonist, Fritz Behrendt, illustrates the doubts of some of the other European partners and their efforts nevertheless to associate the United Kingdom with the Communities.

In his diary, Herbert Blankenhorn, Diplomatic Adviser to Konrad Adenauer in the German Foreign Ministry and Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to NATO between 1955 and 1959, describes what led French President Charles de Gaulle to veto the United Kingdom’s accession to the Common Market.

Herbert Blankenhorn, diplomatic adviser to Konrad Adenauer at the German Foreign Ministry and Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) to NATO from 1955 to 1959.

In his diary, Herbert Blankenhorn, Diplomatic Adviser to Konrad Adenauer in the German Foreign Ministry and Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to NATO between 1955 and 1959, deplores French President Charles de Gaulle’s first veto of the United Kingdom’s accession to the Common Market and fears the effects that this decision could have on Franco-German relations.