Wednesday, 24 June 2015

The Queen in Germany

The Queen has arrived in Germany for her fifth State Visit to the country since the start of her reign in 1952. Her three day tour began at Berlin Tegel airport with an official welcome and the sight of the Duke of Edinburgh almost jumping off the plane to get things going.


The welcome gets even more official at the start of day one proper when the Queen will be the guest of President Joachim Gauck at Bellevue Palace before travelling by boat along the River Spree for a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel.



The visit is being seen as highly significant with an increased focus on the Queen's overseas travel as she approaches the age of 90.  The fact that Germany has been chosen for this State Visit is seen as important and testament to the relationship between the country and the UK.


 

The Queen has previously visited Germany on State Visits in 2004, 1992, 1978 and 1965 - a witness to the changes that have taken place there in the sixty three years since she became a monarch.  This was summed up by Angela Merkel who, ahead of the visit, said 'the Queen is a contemporary witness of the development of relations between Germany and the United Kingdom".

 

And that bearing witness will be extremely poignant on Friday when, as the visit reaches its last day. the Queen and her husband visit the Bergen-Belsen memorial site to lay a wreath. That day will also see them return to the Brandenberg Gate which has featured in some of the most symbolic scenes in recent German history. 



There will be plenty of State Visit staples in the three day tour as well including a State Banquet on Wednesday night at Bellevue Palace and a Garden Party hosted by the British Ambassador in Berlin on Thursday. As the Queen begins her fifth State Visit to Germany, every moment will be history in the making.

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