King Charles visits Germany in fence-mending EU trip

Charles’ first official foreign trip as King is part of the UK’s charm offensive with its European neighbours to move past years of feuding caused by Brexit.

President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier and First Lady Elke Baenbender welcome King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort to Bellevue Palace in Berlin. Picture: Getty Images.

Britain’s King Charles III is visiting Germany this week on his first official foreign trip since ascending to the throne, part of the British government’s wider charm offensive with its European neighbours to move past years of feuding caused by Brexit and bolster Western support for Ukraine.

The British government has deployed the new king in a soft-power play that aims to reinforce cultural bonds between the two nations and point to how they can work more closely together on issues such as climate change and foreign policy, British officials said. The king was also due to visit France last week, but that trip was abandoned at the behest of the French government amid mass protests in the country over a pension overhaul.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who unlike his French and US counterparts holds a largely ceremonial role, welcomed King Charles and Queen Camilla at the historic Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday with military honours. He is set to host a state banquet for the monarch in the evening.

Buckingham Palace said it was the first time that a head of state was welcomed at the gate. US President Ronald Reagan held a speech with the gate in the background in 1987, but this was before Germany’s reunification, when the triumphal arch stood on the East side of the Berlin Wall.

Charles and Camilla with German First Lady Elke Buedenbende and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier Schloss Bellevue presidential palace. Picture: Getty Images.

“Today, on the day six years ago when Britain began its exit from the European Union, we are opening a new chapter,” Mr. Steinmeier said in a speech later Wednesday.

He said that the king’s choice to visit Germany for his inaugural foreign trip as monarch was a “great personal gesture and I think at the same time an important sign for German-British relations.” Earlier, the monarch and the queen consort posted on Twitter about their “great joy to be able to continue the deepening of the longstanding friendship between our two nations.” On Thursday, the monarch is set to give a speech at Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, which he addressed in 2020 as the then-Prince of Wales. He will also meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz, talk to Ukrainian refugees and meet with British and German soldiers.

In recent months, Britain has sought to refresh ties with its European neighbours after years of acrimony following its split from the European Union. Most recently, the U.K. announced a compromise deal with the EU to end a long-running argument over trading arrangements with Northern Ireland. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Paris earlier this month to heap praise on French President Emmanuel Macron.

The king’s tour to France and Germany was set to seal this rapprochement. Buckingham Palace says that the trip not only serves to reinforce relations but also to point to how the two nations can work together to tackle climate change, support Ukraine in its war with Russia and improve trading relations, which have been damaged by Brexit.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort and First Lady Elke Buedenbender pose with guests at a state banquet at Schloss Bellevue presidential palace in Berlin. Picture: Getty Images.

King Charles, who is of German descent, is no stranger to Germany. In his previous role as Prince of Wales, he undertook 29 visits to the country. The royal couple will travel to the northern city of Hamburg on Friday, where they will visit a memorial of one of its main churches, which was bombed by British and American forces during World War II. While in Germany, the king, who is known for his environmental agenda, will also visit an organic farm and discuss green energy.

In Germany, interest in the visit hasn’t matched that sparked by previous trips by Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles’s mother, with most large newspapers giving it only cursory treatment ahead of the trip.

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