Less than one month after the US state visit, the King and Queen have confirmed that another international leader will be heading to UK shores later this year
It has confirmed that King Charles and the rest of the royal family will host the President of Germany for a state visit in December, marking such visit to the UK this year.
The King and Queen confirmed the visit in a post on social media, writing: “The President of Germany, accompanied by Frau Büdenbender, will pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom, hosted by His Majesty The King, from Wednesday 3rd December to Friday 5th December.” The trip will be the first time a German president has been hosted on a state visit in 27 years, and only the fifth state visit from Germany since 1958.
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President Steinmeier has visited Britain on several occasions – most recently to attend Their Majesties’ Coronation in May 2023.
Charles and Camilla also met with him and the German First Lady following his Accession to the throne, when the King became the first British Monarch to address the Bundestag, Germany’s national parliament, where he received a standing ovation when he told a packed chamber he wished to “renew the pledge of friendship between our nations”.
They also attended a glittering state banquet hosted by President Steinmeier at the Schloss Bellevue Palace in Berlin.
Following their visit, the King and Queen issued a statement where they said the country was “so close to our hearts” as they thanked the people of Germany for their “touching and warm welcome”, as they added: “We hope to return again soon!”
Before he took the throne, Charles visited Germany more than 40 times, with the King saying of their many visits: “Remarkably, I realise I have visited Germany more than forty times – a measure of the importance of this relationship, of course, but also, I fear, of just how long I have been around!”
He continued: “Over all these years, and in so many ways, I have been struck by the warmth of the friendship between our nations and by the vitality of our partnership in countless areas.”
The German state visit in December marks the third inward state visit hosted by the King and Queen this year, after French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte were hosted in Windsor in July, and US president Donald Trump and First Lady Melania received an invitation for a state visit in September.
No official schedule for the three-day German state visit has yet been released by the Palace, but are set to include a ceremonial welcome, a grand state banquet in the castle’s St George’s Hall, and talks with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
