Germans think Charles is wunderbar! Berlin crowds go wild for the King

Why the Germans think Charles is wunderbar! Local media and crowds go wild for the monarch as it emerges the King ‘wanted Germany to be his first state visit as a sign of his love for the country’ which he ‘sees as a pioneer’ and ally in climate change

Germans have taken King Charles to their hearts because many worshipped the Queen and respect his own love for Germany – a country he has visited 40-plus times from aged 13, royal experts and distant relatives declared today.

Since Charles and the Queen Consort arrived in Berlin yesterday and headed to the Brandenburg Gate, they have been met with affection from huge crowds everywhere they have gone. 

Alexander von Schönburg, who is married to Prince Philip’s great-niece Princess Irina of Hesse, has said that Charles had always wanted Germany to be the destination for his first state visit – not France as planned this week. 

Charles’ campaigning in the environment also resonates with Germans, he said. 

‘Charles is very close to Germany. He sees us as pioneers in climate and environmental protection. He has been here more than 40 times, including with his relatives’, Count von Schönburg said, adding: ‘I know from a very reliable source that he wanted Germany to be the destination of his very first state visit as a sign of his unique love for our country’.

Royal biographer Tom Bower told MailOnline: ‘The Germans are pro-British, admired the Queen and respect Charles’s many interests in the environment architecture and especially alternative medicine. His German family relations resonate a lot especially in Hamburg and Berlin. He has a natural affinity with educated Germans’. 

King Charles II enjoys some German sparkling wine at a state banquet in his honour last night

Charles greets crowds who have turned out in force to see him in Berlin

The King waves to the Bundestag after today’s speech

This afternoon Charles became the first British monarch to address the Bundestag and spoke almost entirely in German, describing his love for the country he first visited aged 13. 

King Charles becomes the first British monarch to address the Bundestag with historic speech in German as he pays tribute to his late mother the Queen 

And last night he was at a state banquet thrown in his honour, attended by several of his relatives where the King was offered organic chicken instead of vegetarian options washed down with German sparkling wine, which he clearly enjoyed.

The trip has been hailed as a triumph by the German media, with tabloid Bild enjoying how the King ‘enthused about his German roots and love of German culture’. They also claimed that he and Olaf Scholz the German President enjoyed several positive talks about sustainability, environmental protection and climate change. 

Experts have said the trip is hugely significant for the UK as it tries to improve its relationship with the EU, especially the Germans.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said: ‘Charles has been to Germany over 40 times. It is a boost to Anglo-German relations to see how delighted his hosts are to see him.

‘The undoubted success so far of the first state visit of King Charles’s reign shows once again that royal visits are a uniquely potent way to project British soft power.

‘Charles is highly respected in Germany and this visit is symbolic of a new attitude to Anglo-German relations which looks to the future whilst paying homage to the past. 

‘The King seems wholly at ease, whether arriving to a ceremonial welcome, speaking at a state banquet or going on a walkabout. Queen Consort Camilla is clearly the perfect partner for him and what he achieved in his long apprenticeship in the role as Prince of Wales has earned him respect. 

‘The royal family are also more at ease with their German antecedents, German relations of the King attended the banquet. It is particularly important to Germany that, post-Brexit, relations with Britain now look to the future. 

‘This is reflected in the tour itinerary which includes the first ever address by a British monarch to the Bundestag and the symbolic importance of this is immense. The Queen first paid a state visit to Germany in 1965 and she also went to Germany for her last full state visit’.

German media, including Bild, has been glowing in its coverage of the King’s visit 

In his speech to the Bundestag today the King celebrated the ‘special bond’ between the UK and Germany as he became the first British monarch to address the Bundestag during his historic state visit to the country.

Speaking in both German and English, Charles said he could ‘hardly begin to express the pride’ he felt in the relationship between the two countries and spoke fondly of his ‘cherished’ family ties to Germany.

He also thanked the country for its kindness following the death of his mother, the late Queen.

He said: ‘Today, it gives me particular pride to be with you … and to renew the special bond between our two countries.

‘This friendship meant so much to my beloved mother, the late Queen, who often spoke of the 15 official visits she made to Germany, including her five state visits.

‘The first of those, in 1965, came when our continent was still deeply scarred by war, and the trauma of conflict. Hers was the wartime generation, and like my father, the Queen had served in uniform.

‘That my parents’ 11-day tour of Germany should prove to be a pivotal moment in the reconciliation between our nations was, therefore, a matter of great personal significance to them both.

‘My mother understood the immense achievement that reconciliation represented, and in returning to Germany time and again, she was determined to play her own part. It is, perhaps, for this reason that Her late Majesty won a particular place in the affection of the German people.’

With a quip about the Lionesses’ victory over Germany at Euro 2022, the monarch hailed it as ‘just one example of how our countries, together, can offer a compelling example to the world’.

‘Faced with so many shared challenges, the United Kingdom and Germany are together providing leadership to secure our shared future,’ he added.

A man in a Burger King crown offered to Charles 

The King also touched on climate change leadership before concluding: ‘In the long and remarkable story of our two countries, there are many chapters yet unwritten. Let us fill these with the restless pursuit of a better tomorrow. The legacy of our past, and the great promise of our future, demand nothing less.’

Not all were enamored by the visit, however. Jan Korte, a lawmaker with the opposition Left party, said it wasn’t in keeping with Germany’s democratic tradition to have Charles address the country’s highest political body, the Bundestag.

‘A king isn’t elected,’ Korte told public broadcaster ZDF. ‘He can obviously speak everywhere and is very welcome, including by me, but I think that particularly in the Bundestag, which is about representing the people, it’s not really appropriate to have a monarch speak.’

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