King Charles III arrived in Berlin on Wednesday for his first foreign trip as Britain鈥檚 monarch, hoping to improve the U.K.鈥檚 relations with the European Union and show he can win hearts and minds abroad, just as his mother did for seven decades.
Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, landed at Berlin鈥檚 government airport in the early afternoon. The king, dressed in a black coat, and his wife, in a light blue coat and a feather-trimmed teal hat worn at a jaunty angle, paused at the top of their plane鈥檚 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 鈥済reat joy鈥� to be able to develop the 鈥渓ongstanding friendship between our two nations.鈥�
An hour later, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Buedenbender welcomed them with military honors at the German capital鈥檚 historic Brandenburg Gate.
Soldiers hoisted the British and German flags as the national anthems were played. The officials then strolled past the crowds who cheered and waved flags, shaking hands and chatting briefly with different people.
Some took close-up pictures on their phones as Charles and Camilla approached, while others gave them flower bouquets. One woman handed Charles a gift bag saying 鈥淚 have a little gift for you.鈥�
Police helicopters hovered about and the royal couple and their German hosts were followed by a huge media crowd and security personnel as they made their way across the square in front of the Brandenburg Gate and 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鈥檚 head of state, the king meets weekly with the prime minister and retains his mother鈥檚 role as leader of the Commonwealth.
He had initially planned to first visit France, but the first leg of his trip was canceled due to massive protests over planned pension changes there.
Billed as a multi-day tour of the European Union鈥檚 two biggest countries, the trip was designed to underscore British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak鈥檚 efforts to rebuild relations with the bloc after six years of arguments over Brexit and highlight the countries鈥� shared history as they work together to combat Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Now everything rests on Germany, where the king faces the first big test of whether he can be an effective conduit for the 鈥渟oft power鈥� the House of Windsor has traditionally wielded, helping Britain pursue its geopolitical goals through the glitz and glamour of a 1,000-year-old monarchy.
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. His visit to Germany will give him an opportunity to highlight the causes he holds dear, like sustainability and the environment.
But there will also be a full dose of the pomp and circumstance that screams royal visit, starting with the ceremonial welcome at the Brandenburg Gate and a white tie dinner at Schloss Bellevue, the German president鈥檚 official residence, on Wednesday evening.
On Thursday, the king is scheduled to give a speech to the Bundestag, Germany鈥檚 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 the people 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鈥檚 return to an EU program that funds scientific research across Europe.
Britain鈥檚 senior royals are among the most recognizable people on the planet. While their formal powers are strictly limited by law and tradition, they draw attention from the media and the public partly because of the historic ceremonies and regalia that accompany them 鈥� and also because the public is fascinated by their personal lives.
Elizabeth鈥檚 influence stemmed in part from the fact that she made more than 100 state visits during her 70 years on the throne, meeting presidents and prime ministers around the world in a reign that lasted from the Cold War to the information age.
Politicians were eager to meet the monarch for tea, if for no other reason than she鈥檇 been around so long.
鈥擪irsten Grieshaber And Danica Kirka, The Associated Press
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