King vows to strengthen ties between UK and Germany in banquet speech to mark first state visit

Joe Middleton
·2 min read

King Charles has pledged to “strengthen the connections” between the UK and Germany as he paid tribute to the “enduring value” of the two nations’ relationship on his first state visit of his reign.

Charles stressed in a banquet speech that he was “utterly convinced” the bond between Britain and one of the EU’s leading nations “will grow ever stronger”.

He spoke in German to say he and Camilla were "deeply touched" by the welcome and he praised the "very special" nation.

He drew laughs from guests at the white-tie event when he referenced a British comedy sketch hugely popular in Germany called “dinner for one”, about an elderly aristocrat who dines alone while her waiter gets progressively more drunk as he consumes alcohol poured for her missing dinner guests.

The historic day saw the King and Queen Consort land at Berlin Brandenburg Airport on Wednesday afternoon and they were then greeted with a 21-gun salute and a fly-past by two fighter jets after they emerged from the ministerial plane Voyager.

Pictured left to right: the German President's wife Elke Buedenbender, Camilla, Queen Consort, King Charles III and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attend a ceremonial welcome at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin (AFP/Getty)
Pictured left to right: the German President's wife Elke Buedenbender, Camilla, Queen Consort, King Charles III and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attend a ceremonial welcome at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin (AFP/Getty)

The couple were welcomed at the bottom of Voyager’s steps by a line of dignitaries including the British Ambassador to Germany, Jill Gallard, and the State Secretary Dorte Dinger.

A guard of honour lined the red carpet walked by the couple who made their way to a waiting motorcade, which took them to the German capital, where they received a ceremonial welcome at the Brandenburg Gate.

In the shadow of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate – a national symbol of peace and unity – Germany’s president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and wife Elke Budenbender formally welcomed the King and Queen Consort, heralding a deepening of the post-Brexit relationship between the two countries.

The foursome posed for the waiting photographers with the famous landmark in the background before the national anthems of Germany and the UK were played.

The King inspected a guard of honour, accompanied by the president, before Charles, Camilla, the German statesman and his wife went on a brief walkabout meeting people waiting behind nearby crash barriers.

Charles and Camilla later sat down to sign a book to commemorate the state visit at the Schloss Bellevue presidential palace.

At an event promoting UK and German climate and sustainability efforts, he praised the King’s green “convictions” and thanked him for making the “personal gesture” of choosing his country as the destination for the monarch’s inaugural state visit.

Charles and Camilla said in a joint statement, released on their official Twitter account, it was a “great joy” to be able to develop the “longstanding friendship between our two nations”.

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