Queen Elizabeth leaves Frankfurt
June 25, 2015
A jubilant crowd greeted Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip in Frankfurt as they waved to citizens gathered at St. Paul's church and outside the city hall. The royal couple, accompanied by German President Joachim Gauck and his partner Daniela Schadt, were welcomed by Volker Bouffier, the chief minister of Hessen, and his wife Ursula.
DW's Carla Bleiker, who was in Frankfurt to cover the event, tweeted this picture.
3000 people in all had gathered on Thursday for Queen Elizabeth's visit. 120 citizens were chosen for a special meeting with the British royals at the St. Paul's church, considered the birthplace of democracy in Germany.
Following the meeting, the guests walked over a red carpet to the town hall, known to residents as the "Römer." People who had gathered in front of the church cheered loudly as the guests appeared after a delay of half an hour.
Sunny skies and a children's choir of the Domsing school singing the iconic song "Die Gedanken sind frei" (Our thoughts are free) provided the perfect backdrop for the esteemed visitors' welcome.
The guests finally took part in a traditional Hessian lunch with representatives from the political, cultural and financial world.
The Queen is traveling back to Berlin after her short four-hour trip to Germany's financial hub where she will attend a garden party hosted by the British ambassador as a belated celebration for her 89th birthday in April this year.
The royal couple is also planning to visit the concentration camps in Bergen-Belsen in Lower Saxony and will leave Germany on Friday.
mg/jil (dpa, AP)