That dirty deed was accomplished by two kids in a rowboat who were re-enacting D-Day for a school project.
I suppose it is possible that Picards ancestor was an expatriate French Nobleman, who would rather fight along side the Brits than visit the guillotine. Once Napoleon was defeated this Picard returned to France.
On the other hand, officers usually had a lot of freedom with the dress code, so it is just easier to assume that he fought on the French side. Besides, it is just a portrait, so that is not even necessarily the uniform he actually wore on duty.
It wouldn't be unthinkable for him to do exactly that - the clothes could be a trophy or something. Indeed, trophy jackets have basically always been the trademark of eccentric but successful officers. However, what he'd wear when an official portrait was painted of him is a rather different matter! Timo Saloniemi
There's another possibility. The Picards (or some of them) could have moved to England long before the Revolution, explaining the ancestor who fought for the British at Trafalgar. Maurice, who we know was a luddite, might have moved back to France at some point before Jean Luc was born, with the dream of owning a vineyard like his ancestors, or perhaps his extended family. Was it specifically stated he was born in France? He could be from Rutland for all we know. All true, except I've never heard anyone in Britain (or France) call it "the Chunnel". I think it's something that was coined when it was being built, and popularised in the rest of the world, but it never caught on here. It's just called "the tunnel", or "the channel tunnel".
Indeed, all we know is that Jean-Luc Picard lived in the LaBarre house in his early childhood already, not that the house would have belonged to the family for generations upon generations. And even if it were handed over from previous generations, it could be from the family of Maurice's wife, only having gained the name Chateau Picard in the most recent years. Then again, ST:Nemesis supposedly features a bottle of Chateau Picard from 2267, long before Maurice would have moved over. We may assume a) the old vineyard in question is not the same that Maurice later ran, or b) it's actually Maurice's wife who was named Picard, and this Maurice Robinson bloke was an Englishman who taught his sons an English manner of speech. The latter alternative sounds the most appealing here. Sure, Picard says the name of his mother was Yvette Gessard, under duress and truth drugs in "Chain of Command", and the Cardassians accept this - so we're supposed to take this for absolute truth. But "Yvette Gessard" could be her two given names, with Picard still being her surname. So the famous Picards of the past could be a combination of Englishmen and Frenchmen (with the odd Spaniard in the mix, as "Journey's End" suggests), but with the latest batch all being French until being injected with British blood and accent by Jean-Luc's British father. Timo Saloniemi
He's not from Rutland. No-one who defeats the Borg could come from Rutland. It's just not possible. [from Rutland ]
Well, Encounter at Farpoint shows Picard tucking tail and running from Q and when he can't get away, throws his hands up and surrenders. That alone should be proof enough he's from France.
It's just a portrait in a fantasy. No evidence it existed outside the Nexus, or that it wasn't Jean-Luc who posed for it.
I've never been bothered by his accent. The only thing they really should have done is to ask a french how we do say "Picard", because the "d" is silent. In the homecoming episode Stewart do pronounce "Robert" the right way, it's too bad no one ever bothered to check for "Picard". That being said, I'm always a bit hurt by the usual stereotyped derogatory slurish comments about the french on the internet (probably because I'm french since it seems I'm the only one bothered). I generally keep it to myself because, let's face it, it's not one guy who will end up the use of stereotype in the world and I know there's plenty of french guys doing the same about the Brits and the USers. But I really find it sickening to read that kind of stuff on a Star Trek board written by Star Trek fans.
But you're forgetting Sean Connery who plays an Egyptian masquerading as a Spaniard with a Scottish accent. And then there's Arnold Schwarzenegger who often played true American heroes with thick Austrian accents.
I can't say it bothered me. Patrick Stewart has an amazing voice. I believe Patrick Stewart once joked that Picard had a British nanny.
Apparently TPTB didn't think so - that's why they made Marina Sirtis use a fake accent when playing Troi. Yep, another Yorkshireman.
Although when he's weeping in the mud after the fight scene he calls him Robert with a t. It just goes to show that at times of stress you can't suppress your inner englishman.
I never had a problem with Picard's accent. Everyone speaks "Standard," after all, so Picard (and Troi, and Worf - for that matter) just showed that not everyone ennunciated Standard exactly the same way. Of the senior Enterprise crew, only Riker was born and bred in North America - and he was from Alaska. So maybe we needed to hear more "You betcha!" moments from him to make that character's voice ring true.