LONDON (AP) — German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will be welcomed by a brass band and royalty when he arrives in Britain on Wednesday for a state visit that will celebrate the close ties between the two countries while also remembering the scars of the past.
King Charles III will welcome Steinmeier and his wife Elke Budenbender to Windsor Castle for a three-day tour that includes all the pomp and ceremony traditionally reserved for distinguished guests in England. But it will also be a somber subject as Steinmeier becomes the first German head of state to pay an official state visit to Britain in 27 years.
On Friday, the couple will visit Coventry Cathedral to commemorate the Nazi bombing of the city, which killed at least 568 people and destroyed or damaged more than half the homes on the night of November 14, 1940. It was the single most concentrated attack on a British city during World War II.
Germany has apologized more than once for the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. During a state visit to Germany in 2023, Charles acknowledged the damage caused by the war and laid a wreath at the remains of St. Nicholas Church in Hamburg to commemorate the more than 30,000 people who died during the Allied bombing of the city in July 1943.
“This is a particularly poignant moment in British and German history, so the fact that this is included in the state visit is obviously important to both sides,” said Joe Little, editor-in-chief of Authority magazine.
While state visits are hosted by the king, they are arranged at the behest of elected governments to reward friends — and sometimes nudge reluctant partners — with the red-carpet treatment that only the British royal family can provide.
So there will be glittering headdresses, displays of military precision and sumptuous banquets served with 200-year-old silverware. There is also a huge Christmas tree in St George’s Hall.
But it’s a spectacle with a purpose. Britain and Germany are seeking to strengthen ties between their countries as they face challenges from the war in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump’s America First policies that threaten to upend long-standing trade and security ties.
The visit will build on Charlie’s successful state visit to Germany, when he demonstrated the ability to roll the R correctly when switching between German and English during a speech in the Bundestag.
This is Charles’ first state visit since taking the throne, and he emphasized the long-term relationship between the two countries and the importance of future cooperation.
British officials hoped to cement these relationships by covering the glorious events at Windsor Castle.
“It will produce wonderful images that will be seen as emblematic of the British public and the German public,” said Gerhard Dannemann, former director of the Center for British Studies at Humboldt University in Berlin. “Hopefully… the German president will emulate what Charles did in 2023.”
