British monarch King Charles praised the "enduring value" of the relationship between the United Kingdom and Germany on Wednesday, saying that during his first foreign visit since ascending to the British throne last year, he would do his utmost to strengthen the ties between the two countries. A military reception was held for King Charles at the Brandenburg Gate in the German capital, Berlin. The visit comes as part of efforts to turn the page on years of troubled relations between Britain and the European Union following London's exit from the bloc.
In a speech, parts of which he delivered in German during an official dinner hosted by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin, Charles said, "I have been struck by the warmth of friendship between our countries." The British monarch praised the "generosity of the German people" who host more than a million Ukrainian refugees.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who welcomed Charles and his wife Camilla in Berlin, noted that Charles’s choice of France and Germany for his first state visit, even before his scheduled coronation in May, represented an important "European gesture." Steinmeier added, "Today, exactly six years after the start of Britain's exit from the European Union, we are opening a new chapter in our relations."
In line with Charles's interest in environmental issues, his first activities in Berlin will include a forum on sustainability, where he will address matters ranging from hydrogen and renewable energy sources to industrial decarbonization, according to Buckingham Palace. He will also meet with Germany's foreign and economy ministers, who belong to the Greens, the smaller partner in the governing coalition, as well as business leaders, academics, and representatives of civil society.
On Thursday, Charles will deliver a speech before the German Bundestag in Berlin and meet some of the Ukrainian refugees who have fled the war in their country to Germany. Later that same day, he will meet representatives from a joint British-German military unit to review their amphibious bridge-building vehicles in Brandenburg.
Steinmeier mentioned that he had invited Charles during his mother's funeral last September. However, the British government makes the final decisions regarding these visits, which form part of its use of "soft power" through the monarchy. Consequently, the visit clearly reflects British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's efforts to open a new chapter in relations with Europe, according to Anand Menon, director of the research center "UK in a Changing Europe."
However, any improvement in relations resulting from the visit could soon wane if any of the post-Brexit issues flare up again. Britain's ranking as Germany's fifth-largest trading partner dropped to eleventh in 2022, after the Czech Republic.
Commenting on the flight that took Charles, the pilot said, "Fighter jets accompanied the King’s plane as it entered Berlin." Charles was originally set to visit France first but canceled that leg of his trip due to the violent unrest prompted by the new pension law protests.
