France's Princess Diana

The day after splashing pictures of her naked, Britain's tabloids hailed Carla Bruni as a fashion queen who could be the new Princess Diana.

"What a difference a day makes ... and this time she remembered to put some clothes on," trumpeted The Daily Mail, which devoted a six-page spread to France's First Lady.

"Britain is enchanted by Madame Sarkozy," said the Daily Express opposite a picture of the former catwalk star turned singer arriving for a state banquet at Windsor Castle.

Tabloids had welcomed Carla at the start of a state visit with her husband, President Nicolas Sarkozy, by reproducing a nude fashion shot of her taken in the 1990s. Bookmakers William Hill quoted odds of 10-1 that Mr Sarkozy would buy the print when it was auctioned next month in New York.

Any moralistic tut-tutting by the popular press was replaced by praise for a woman hailed as a demure model of elegance.

"A Good Night for France. The Gaul Scorers," declared The Sun in a front-page spread linking Carla's triumph with France's soccer defeat of England in Paris. When she arrived in London, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles had planted a kiss on her gloved hand.

"Is Carla the new Diana?" asked The Daily Telegraph. "Presidential aides hope France's First Lady will become their very own Queen of Hearts."

At home, French newspapers enthused over the sensation created by the new first lady, whose apparent ease with rigid court protocol they put down to her long experience as a model.