King Charles and
Queen Camilla will soon welcome German President Frank-Walter
Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender for the final State
Visit of the year, and here’s everything you need to know.
When President Steinmeier and Ms. Büdenbender arrive at Heathrow
Airport, the Prince and Princess of Wales will be waiting to greet
them. The royals and the presidential couple will then travel to
Windsor, where King Charles and Queen Camilla will be waiting on
Datchet Road at the Royal Dais for an official welcome.
Camilla with the President of Germany in Berlin during his State
Visit to the country
As The King and Queen greet their guests, a royal salute will be
fired from the Windsor Home Park and at the Tower of London, and
all parties will ride in a carriage procession up to Windsor
Castle.
The King and President Steinmeier will inspect the Guard of
Honour and receive the royal salute before joining The Queen and
Ms. Büdenbender and William and Catherine to watch the military
march past.
Following the welcome ceremony, King Charles and Queen Camilla
will host the German president and his wife, and members of the
Royal Family, for a lunch in the State Dining Room. They will also
view an exhibit featuring items of German interest from the Royal
Collection in the Green Dining Room.
In the afternoon, President Steinmeier will visit Prime Minister
Keir Starmer at No. 10 Downing Street and meet with German and UK
business leaders; Ms. Büdenbender will separately visit the Judith
Kerr Primary School, a school with a German connection through its
namesake, a German children’s book illustrator.
The final engagement tonight will be a State Banquet hosted by
King Charles at Windsor Castle, where the King and President
Steinmeier will give speeches.
Thursday begins with a poignant private visit to St George’s
Chapel, where President Steinmeier and Ms. Büdenbender will lay
flowers on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II.
After the German presidential couple returns to Windsor Castle,
they will accompany King Charles and Queen Camilla to a reception
for The Big Help Out, which will highlight the vital work of
volunteering in the community.
Royal history is next on the agenda, with the King and Queen
displaying the State Sleigh, a gift for Queen Victoria designed and
given by her husband, Prince Albert. The State Sleigh dates back to
1845.
President Steinmeier and Ms. Büdenbender will then travel into
London, with a visit to Westminster Abbey planned to lay a wreath
at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, before heading to the Palace
of Westminster, where President Steinmeier will address
Parliamentarians in the Royal Gallery and meet UK government
officials.
An afternoon of German-UK connection follows, with a reception
for the German community in the United Kingdom at the Embassy, and
a meeting with German footballers at the Bobby Moore Academy in the
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Ms. Büdenbender will travel separately to the Royal Courts of
Justice to meet with the Lady Chief Justice to discuss women in
law.
The presidential couple will then visit the
V&A East Storehouse to view items from their collections
and learn more about the history of the V&A.
In the evening, Princess Anne and Sir Tim Laurence will join
President Steinmeier and Ms. Büdenbender at a banquet hosted by the
Lady Mayor of London and the City of London Corporation. Both
President Steinmeier and the Lady Mayor will deliver speeches.
The Duke of Kent will play an important role on the final day of
the German State Visit, when he accompanies President Steinmeier
and Ms. Büdenbender to Coventry Cathedral. The presidential couple
will hear about the community’s experiences during the Second World
War and, along with the Duke of Kent, will lay a wreath at the
ruins of the old cathedral. Afterwards, they will receive a tour of
the new cathedral.
The presidential couple will then travel to Oxford to visit
Siemens Healthineers and the University of Oxford, where President
Steinmeier will receive an honorary degree.
This is the third State Visit King Charles has welcomed into the
United Kingdom this year. In the summer, the US President
officially visited; and French President Emmanuel Macron visited in
September.
King Charles’s first State Visit abroad after ascending to the
throne took place in Germany between 29–31 March 2023, and he
became the first British monarch to address the Bundestag.
