Charles III called for upholding democratic values and hailed solidarity with Ukraine in defending “freedom” against Russian “aggression” on Wednesday night as he began a state visit to Germany, his first as king abroad.
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The UK and Germany “stand side by side to protect and promote (their) shared democratic values,” he said in a speech in Berlin at Bellevue Palace, where German leader Frank-Walter Steinmeier was giving a dinner in his honor .
This struggle “is typified by the fact that we stand with Ukraine to defend freedom and sovereignty in the face of unprovoked aggression,” added the British monarch.
“Today, Germany and Great Britain are also militarily the two biggest supporters of Ukraine in Europe,” repeated the German head of state, referring to a Russian invasion that brought back “memories of the worst moments” in European history.
The dinner concluded the first day of the sovereign’s visit after an unprecedented ceremony at the foot of the Brandenburg Gate, an emblematic monument that was also a symbol of Berlin’s division for three decades.
Mr Steinmeier celebrated a “new chapter” in post-Brexit relations between the two countries.
“Today, six years after the United Kingdom started to leave the European Union, we are starting a new chapter in our relations,” he said as he welcomed the King and his wife Camilla to Bellevue Palace.
The couple stays in Germany for three days. He was originally scheduled to travel to France beforehand, but that trip was canceled due to social unrest surrounding pension reforms in that country.
At the international airport of the German capital, Charles III. and the Queen’s consort was greeted with a 21-gun salute, two Eurofighters flying overhead and a military honor guard.
After hours of waiting in the morning, hundreds of Windsor admirers or just the curious got a close look at the royal couple, who shook hands a lot.
“We loved the ceremony,” says Kathy Robertson, 63, an English woman who has lived in Germany for 43 years. “The Queen was very beautiful”.
For Janis Aritis, a 22-year-old student, the moment is moving: “It’s not the same as it was when she was the queen. It represents a new era, a new era.”
The famous Unter den Linden avenue has been decked out in British colors for a visit, intended as a solemn occasion to celebrate the friendly relations between the two countries.
The stay is all about ecology, whose ex-prince Charles has made himself cantor on the other side of the English Channel.
Charles, 74, a longtime environmental advocate, attended a reception at Château de Bellevue dedicated to the challenges of climate change.
On Friday, the last day of his trip to Germany, he gets to know a renewable energy production project in the port city of Hamburg.
The program in Berlin will continue on Thursday, the highlight being a speech by Charles III. in the Bundestag.
The monarch must also meet with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, meet Ukrainian refugees and visit an organic farm.
It will not be the first time that Karl finds himself in the pulpit of the German Bundestag.
In November 2020, while still Crown Prince, he addressed German lawmakers on the Day of Remembrance in a highly symbolic gesture to mark the post-war reconciliation between the Kingdom and Germany.
His most important visit dates back to 1965, in a Berlin divided by the Wall.
It is considered the moment that sealed the reconciliation between the two countries after World War II.
Queen Elizabeth II’s last trip to Germany in 2015, during the time of Chancellor Angela Merkel, sparked great enthusiasm there.