King Charles III arrived in Germany with the Queen Consort on Wednesday for his first overseas state visit as monarch.
Arriving at Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport on Wednesday afternoon for the start of their three-day visit, they were met with a hail of gunfire as two military jets flew by.
German officials greeted the King and Queen Consort as they stepped off the plane.
The trip should have started last Sunday, in France, but the first leg was canceled amid strikes and civil protests in the country due to the pension reforms of President Emmanuel Macron.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife, Elke Budenbender, will roll out the red carpet for the visiting monarch.
They will welcome Charles and Camilla with a welcoming ceremony with full military honors at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. The royal couple will later be guests of honor at a state banquet at Schloss Bellevue, the official residence of the German president.
“To him and obviously to all Brits, I want to say that we in Germany, in Europe, want close and friendly relations with the UK even after Brexit,” Steinmeier said in a video message ahead of the trip. according to Reuters.
Crowds — some waving flags or wearing repurposed Burger King crowns — gathered at the Brandenburg Gate hours before the king’s arrival.
This Thursday, Charles will address the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament. He will then meet some Ukrainian refugees who have sought refuge in Germany from the Russian invasion at home.
The following day, the King and Queen Consort will travel to Hamburg, where they will visit the St. Nikolai Memorial, a church that was heavily damaged by Allied bombing during World War II.
While there, the German King and President will lay wreaths as part of a short remembrance ceremony.
Despite the delay in the beginning, the objectives of the trip remain the same. Traveling at the request of the British government and at the invitation of the German president, the king hopes to renew and strengthen ties after the UK leaves the European Union.
“It’s also a chance to look ahead and showcase the many ways our countries are working in partnership, whether it’s tackling climate change; responding to the conflict in Ukraine; take advantage of trade and investment opportunities or share the best of our arts and culture,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement announcing the state visit earlier this month.
Charles last visited Germany as Prince of Wales in 2020 to mark the country’s National Day of Mourning for war victims.
Source: CNN Brasil
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