BERLIN, Germany
King Charles III arrived in
Berlin on Wednesday for his first foreign trip as Britain's monarch, hoping to
improve the U.K.'s relations with the European Union and show he can win hearts
and minds abroad, just as his mother did for seven decades.Britain's King Charles greets people as he visits Berlin, March 29, 2023. (Courtesy)
Charles and Camilla, the queen
consort, landed at Berlin's government airport in the early afternoon. The king
and his wife paused at the top of their plane's stairs to receive a 21-gun
salute as two military jets performed a flyover.
The royal couple said in a
joint statement, released on their official Twitter account, that it was a
"great joy" to be able to develop the "longstanding friendship
between our two nations."
An hour later, German
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife, Elke Buedenbender, welcomed
them with military honors at the German capital's historic Brandenburg Gate.
Soldiers hoisted the British
and German flags as the national anthems were played. Steinmeier and Charles
then strolled past the cheering, flag-waving crowd, shaking hands and chatting
briefly with people. Journalists and security personnel trailed the royal
couple and their German hosts as they made their way back to their motorcade.
Charles, 74, who ascended the
throne after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September, is set to be crowned
on May 6. As Britain's head of state, the king meets weekly with the prime
minister and retains his mother's role as leader of the Commonwealth.
He had initially planned to
visit France before heading to Germany, but the first leg of his trip was
canceled due to massive protests over the French government's efforts to raise
the country's retirement age by two years.
Billed as a multi-day tour of
the EU's two biggest countries, the trip was designed to underscore British
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's efforts to rebuild relations with the bloc after
six years of arguments over Brexit and highlight the countries' shared history
as they work together to combat Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Highlighting the diplomatic
importance of the trip, Charles was accompanied by Britain's Foreign Secretary,
James Cleverley.
Charles, a former naval officer who is the first British monarch to earn a
university degree, is expected to insert heft where his glamorous mother once
wielded star power.
During an afternoon reception
and again at a white tie evening banquet at Palace Bellevue, the German
president's official residence, Steinmeier remarked on the significance of
Charles's first visit taking him to Berlin, calling it "a wonderful
personal gesture and at the same time an important sign for German-British
relations."
Steinmeier noted that Britain
began the tortuous process of leaving the EU on March 29, 2017.
"For me personally, this
was a sad day," he said. "Today, exactly six years later, we open a
new chapter."
Steinmeier paid tribute to
Charles' mother Elizabeth, stressing how much she had done to foster
German-British ties.
"Your family stands for
continuity, for stability, particularly in times of change," he said,
noting that Charles, too, had visited Germany more than 40 times as a prince.
It was a subject picked up by
Charles, who said the countries' friendship was of great importance to his
mother, who enjoyed immense popularity in Germany.
"The relationship between
Germany and the United Kingdom matters greatly to me too," he said.
"I am more convinced than ever of its enduring value to us all."
"It means so much to us
that my wife and I could come to Germany for this very first overseas tour of
my reign," said Charles. "I can only assure you that throughout the
time that is granted to me as king, I will do all I can to strengthen the
connections between us."
Switching from English to
near-flawless German, Charles insisted: "Our ties will become even
stronger, I'm convinced of that, if we work together for a sustainable future
in prosperity and security."
The banquet was attended by
guests including former Chancellor Angela Merkel and scientist Ozlem Tureci,
who co-founded the German company BioNTech that developed the first widely
approved coronavirus vaccine.
On Thursday, the king is
scheduled to give a speech to the Bundestag, Germany's parliament. He will also
meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz, talk to Ukrainian refugees and meet with British
and Germany military personnel who are working together on joint projects. In
the afternoon he will visit an organic farm outside of Berlin.
The royal couple plan to go to
Hamburg on Friday, where they will visit the Kindertransport memorial for
Jewish children who fled from Germany to Britain during the Third Reich, and
attend a green energy event before returning to the U.K.
The king was urged to make the
trip by Sunak, who during his first six months in office negotiated a
settlement to the long-running dispute over post-Brexit trading rules for
Northern Ireland and reached a deal with France to combat smugglers ferrying
migrants across the English Channel in small boats. Sunak hopes goodwill
created by a royal visit can help pave the way for progress on other issues,
including Britain's return to an EU program that funds scientific research
across Europe. - VoA
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