Charles III called it a "great honour" for him and his wife Camilla to be in the Bundestag and to be invited to speak in Germany to "renew our bond of friendship". It is the first speech by a monarch to the German Parliament.

It is the first visit of Carlo da Re, after the trip to France was postponed due to street protests against the pension reform wanted by Macron. The trip to Germany lasts three days, as it was planned for the French stage.

Carlo and Camilla landed yesterday in Berlin at about 14 pm, greeted by 21 cannon shots. They wrote on Twitter: "We look forward to meeting everyone who makes this country so special. It is a great joy to be able to continue to deepen the long-standing friendship between our two nations."

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and German First Lady Elke Buedenbender welcomed the monarch and Queen Consort Camilla with military honors, the Brandenburg Gate is the symbolic place of the division of the country during the Cold War and subsequent reunification.

The couples then arrived at 15.30pm at the Bellevue Palace in Steinmeier, in the city center.

This trip of the royals is the "opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices and challenges of our common past, from which a lasting legacy of cooperation and reconciliation has flowed", this was officially communicated. The fact that they chose Europe as their first official visit by rulers is emblematic after Brexit, it is like telling the whole world that Britain's priority is to maintain a solid relationship with Europe. The symbolism of waiting is clear and has been widely agreed with the court with the Tory government of Rishi Sunak: flags of the United Kingdom together with those of Germany and Europe fly in the symbolic places.

Today, Berlin's interim mayor Franziska Giffey and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (both SPD) welcomed the royal couple. Afterwards Carlo and Camilla will travel to Hamburg for a reconciliation event in front of the ruins of the church of San Nikolai, destroyed by Allied bombing during the Second World War after being designed by the English architect George Gilbert Scott, also author of the historic headquarters of the Foreign Office in London. All the more so after the ceremonial role already assigned to King Charles in recent weeks on the sidelines of the definition with the EU of the Windsor Framework, the agreement to revise the post-Brexit protocol on Northern Ireland.

AFP

King Charles III of Great Britain gives a speech to the Bundestag

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King Charles III in the Bundestag

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King Charles III and Camilla at the Wittenbergplatz market in Berlin