BERLIN
\nKing Charles III became the first monarch to address Germany\u2019s parliament, the Bundestag, on Thursday as part of a high-profile visit aimed at bolstering ties between the two European powers.
\nCharles, 74, is on his inaugural foreign trip since becoming UK king. He and Camilla, the queen consort, arrived in Berlin on Wednesday. Crowds of well-wishers and Germany\u2019s head of state, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, greeted the couple at the capital\u2019s iconic Brandenburg Gate. They later attended a banquet in their honor at the presidential palace.
\nPomp and royal glamor aside, the three-day visit has a decidedly political purpose. The UK government is trying to mend frayed ties with its continental partners following the painful Brexit process.
\nThe fallout has been considerable: Britain\u2019s departure from the European Union\u2019s common market has resulted in trade barriers and labor shortages, and locked the country out of key European science programs. By devoting special attention to the EU\u2019s two biggest powers \u2014 France and Germany \u2014 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hopes to normalize relations with the 27-nation bloc.
\nCharles originally planned to stop in France first, but anti-government protests there delayed that part of his trip. That put the focus on Germany, where the UK royal family and particularly the late Queen Elizabeth II have long enjoyed curiosity and admiration.
\nNot all were enamored by the visit, however. Jan Korte, a lawmaker with the opposition Left party, said it wasn\u2019t in keeping with Germany\u2019s democratic tradition to have Charles address the country\u2019s highest political body, the Bundestag.
\n\u201cA king isn\u2019t elected,\u201d Korte told public broadcaster ZDF. \u201cHe 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\u2019s not really appropriate to have a monarch speak.\u201d
\nCharles has spoken to the Bundestag before, at a commemorative event held by the German War Graves Commission in 2020, though he was still the Prince of Wales at the time.
\nBefore his speech Charles met briefly with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and visited a farmers market in Berlin.
\nAfter his speech, Charles and Camilla are scheduled to meet with refugees and British and German military personnel stationed near Berlin before visiting an organic farm. They plan to be in Hamburg on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BERLIN King Charles III became the first monarch to address Germany\u2019s parliament, the Bundestag, on Thursday as part of a high-profile visit aimed at bolstering ties between the two European powers. Charles, 74, is on his inaugural foreign trip since becoming UK king. He and Camilla, the queen consort, arrived in Berlin on Wednesday. Crowds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322912,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-322883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n