Perseverance and patience were required. Hundreds of admirers and onlookers waited many hours on Wednesday for a personal look at the new British King Charles III. in Berlin. Some spectators behind the barriers at the Brandenburg Gate wear original hats, and many British flags can be seen. At 3:10 p.m. sharp, the time has come: The limousine with Charles and his wife Camilla stops and they both get out. The spectators cheer briefly, applause can be heard.
Charles is wearing a dark coat and blue and white tie, his wife is wearing a light blue coat with a turquoise hat. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife, dressed entirely in red, receive the royal couple with military honors – for the first time on a state visit to the Brandenburg Gate. The Bundeswehr Staff Music Corps and the Guard Battalion are ready, both national anthems are played.
Shaking hands at the Brandenburg Gate
A few minutes after arriving, the royal couple turn to the people on both sides of Pariser Platz. At 6:30 a.m., a mother and her adult daughter took the front seat in the queue at the controls, they reported. Christoph Mühlbach (59) traveled by train from Hamburg: “I am very happy with the British royal family.”
Some viewers are in for a bit of a disappointment. Charles and Camilla choose separate ways along the long barriers, half of the people only get to see the king up close, the other half Camilla. But both shake hands and keep exchanging words. Charles smiles relaxed, Camilla beams and smiles at the people.
At the beginning, the king stays longer with a group of schoolgirls, then shakes hands with some young men and accepts tulips from others. In between, he bends down, picks up a fallen yellow peaked cap and hands it over to a visitor – who looks visibly surprised. “That’s when I saw that I had lost my hat. Then I said thank you, so he went on,” says the visitor later and enthuses: “That was really great. Now I can’t hold my hand in forever wash. I have to preserve them now.”
Departure to Bellevue Palace
Many visitors film with their mobile phones, some don’t know whether to look at the king directly in front of them or at their display. There were not quite as many as the announced 1500 people, only a few hundred spectators were allowed into the restricted area. At 3.30 p.m., the royal couple get into the limousine, wave briefly through the window, and then depart for Bellevue Palace. The snipers from the police special forces left the roofs and the police helicopter took off.
“It was so great,” says Beate Henke enthusiastically. She wears a blue hat and was able to talk to Charles briefly. As a gift, she gave him a cup and a violet to plant. Charles was initially confused, but then asked about her gardening. King’s fan Christoph Mühlbach, who came from Hamburg, said: “I’m really happy, I’m really happy.” It was “a culmination of my life’s work to have shaken the hand of the monarch”.
Sandra King is with her three sons. “They saw him and they shook his hand too.” Two sons shook hands with Charles. “I made the photo.” But Camilla is also well received. “Impressive, open-hearted and friendly,” says one woman. “As you know them. I like them.” She was a little disappointed not to have met Charles “because he is my favorite king, my favorite person in this family”.
No problems with the filler
Shortly thereafter, the “favourite king” played it safe at Bellevue Palace. To sign the guest book, he pulled his own fountain pen out of his suit and wrote his name with it. Last autumn, a leaking fountain pen enraged him in Northern Ireland. The pen began to smear, Charles ranted, “God, I hate this” and added, “I can’t take that stupid thing (…) every damn time.” Everything went smoothly this time.
Steinmeier mentioned in his speech that construction work on the first direct undersea power cable between Germany and Great Britain should only start this year. Two of the largest energy markets in Europe would then be connected, could balance out fluctuations in demand and also feed in electricity from renewable sources, says Steinmeier. “For me this is an encouraging example – as is your visit to Germany, Your Majesty.”
In the evening, prominent guests were expected at the state banquet in Bellevue Palace, including former Federal Presidents Horst Köhler and Joachim Gauck and former Chancellor Angela Merkel. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) did not agree, but Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) did. Among the expected guests were star architect David Chipperfield and Campino, frontman of the band Die Toten Hosen. His mother is English, he himself has a British passport.
There was a special dress code for the male participants. Normally, a tuxedo is recommended at the state banquet, but this time the dress code is tails in honor of the guests. The details of the four-course menu were kept like a secret. Only in the evening did it become known that there were carp, pasture chicken and prune, among other things. A vegetarian option was also planned, in any case regional, seasonal and ecological. Just like Charles III. it appreciates.
