A version of this story appeared in the March 31 edition of CNN’s Royal News, a weekly entry that brings you up to speed on the British royal family. Register here.
Hamburg, Germany
CNN
—
Another week, another royal journey. This week we joined King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla as they embarked on their historic first joint state visit abroad.
Chaotic scenes of civil unrest prompted the French government to pull the plug on the first leg of the trip, which was due to begin in Paris on Sunday.
Instead, the royal couple flew to Berlin on Wednesday afternoon with two Luftwaffe Typhoon jets escorting the flight as it entered German airspace. Having traveled on quite a few royal flights over the years, we can’t remember the plane ever being welcomed so reverently. But it should have let us know that Germany was going to pull out all the stops in the coming days.
The trip had a clear structure, with day one focusing on pomp and circumstance, day two focusing on politics and the last day focusing on reconciliation and the future. The overarching theme illustrated the unwavering bond between the two nations. The royal couple certainly had a packed agenda, but there were a few assignments focused on Ukraine and the environment that appealed to their priorities.
“In the long and remarkable story of our two countries, there are still many unwritten chapters. Let us fill it with the restless pursuit of a better future. The legacy of our past and the great promise of our future demand nothing less,” said Charles on Thursday as he made history as the first British monarch to address the German parliament while it was in session.
Friday the weather had turned, but that could not dampen the courage. Hundreds of well-wishers braved the wet conditions for hours before the pair arrived from Berlin at Hamburg Dammtor station at lunchtime. Their patience was rewarded when the consort of the King and Queen greeted the crowd after viewing the nearby Kindertransport Memorial, a sculpture commemorating the 1938 rescue of about 10,000 Jewish children from the Nazis by evacuating them to Britain .
The crowds only got bigger as the day progressed. Massive numbers flocked to City Hall. While in Germany’s northern port city, Charles and Camilla also visited St. Nikolai Memorial Church, which was destroyed during World War II. In July 1943, Allied forces began aerial bombardment of Hamburg, Operation Gomorrah. In just eight days, 42,000 civilians were killed and 37,000 injured.
This was always going to be a historic journey for the new British sovereign, but he was under a lot of pressure to get it right. There couldn’t be any distractions or mistakes, especially after the French leg of the trip was cut. In the end it was a flawless visit.
Charles did not shy away from traumatic experiences, both historical and more recent, for the two nations. There might have been some awkwardness given their shared history, but instead he acknowledged the complex Anglo-German relationship.
The focused diplomatic efforts will be applauded at home by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose government sent Charles on his inaugural state visit. He will have been keen to see whether deploying the King’s soft power diplomacy could help restore relations with European partners post-Brexit.
The strategy appears to be paying off. Charles was well received by both politicians and the public. He was praised in the local media, especially for his solid command of the German language.
Many had wondered how Charles would fare on the world stage when he became king, after spending more than seven decades as prince and heir to the throne. This week was the first opportunity we’ve had to see him interact as head of state abroad. He showed his adeptness at wielding soft power and being a unifying diplomatic force and representative for Brand Britain.
With contributions from CNN’s Nadine Schmidt and Cristiana Moisescu.
Hear what Germans think of King Charles III during his visit
The trip may have been shortened, but Charles and Camilla still managed to complete an impressive number of assignments in two cities in two and a half days. Here’s a look back at some of the best bits:
In pictures: the first overseas visit of King Charles III as monarch
While all eyes were on the British monarch and queen consort in Europe, the Duke of Sussex made a surprise appearance in London’s High Court earlier this week. As this was believed to be his first trip home since attending the late Queen’s funeral in September, Prince Harry was in town when his lawsuit against a British newspaper publisher got under way. The Duke, along with several high-profile individuals, including Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, are suing Associated Newspapers Limited for “gross invasions of privacy”.
Allegations include placing listening devices in plaintiffs’ homes and vehicles, tapping phone calls, and paying the police for information. The publisher has vehemently denied the allegations and this week sought to get the matter off the table at a pre-trial hearing. The proceedings were completed on Thursday and it is now up to the judge to decide whether the case will continue. He did not provide a timeline for a decision and said any draft judgments made in the future will have very limited circulation given the high-profile nature of the case.
In a toast at the lavish state banquet held in his honor on Wednesday night, Charles paid tribute “to Germany’s extraordinary hospitality in hosting more than a million Ukrainian refugees.” The monarch said it “demonstrates so powerfully the generosity of the spirit of the German people.”