King Charles III’s plane of Great Britain and King Consort Camilla has landed at BER Airport Photo: Odd ANDERSEN / AFP
From the BZ editorial team
The British King Charles III. started his three-day state visit to Germany on Wednesday. The monarch and his wife Camilla landed at Berlin’s capital airport BER in the afternoon and stepped out of their plane.
For the monarch, it is the first trip abroad in his new role – before his coronation on May 6th. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender will accompany Charles and his wife Camilla through their program in Berlin, Brandenburg and Hamburg until Friday.
Beate H., fan of the British royal family, is waiting for the arrival of King Charles III. in front of the Brandenburg Gate Photo: picture alliance
The first stop after the airport should be the Brandenburg Gate. As the first state guest ever, Charles and Camilla were to be greeted with military honors at the Brandenburg Gate – close to the people in the middle of the capital. Onlookers have been waiting there since morning for their chance to see the royals up close. A few hundred were allowed onto the cordoned off area at Pariser Platz.
The next item in the afternoon is a reception on the topic of energy transition and sustainability in Bellevue Palace with actors from politics, research, business and civil society. In the evening, Steinmeier gives a state banquet for Charles with around 130 guests. According to reports, the king wants to hold part of his after-dinner speech in German.
Germany and Great Britain have long been close partners, but the king’s visit is seen as a new beginning. Exactly six years ago, the British government officially initiated the exit from the EU on March 29, 2017, and Brexit was completed on January 31, 2020. Before the visit, the Federal President’s Office said that the “tangles of separation” are now being left behind and that we are looking forward together.