Queen Elizabeth steps into Berlin limelight
June 24, 2015
The queen, in a white dress and matching hat, and Prince Philip were received with military honors at Bellevue Palace, the German president's residence.
They also posed for a picture with German President Joachim Gauck and his wife, Daniela Schadt. The queen then signed the visitors' book, and briefly met students in the palace garden.
Known for her love of horses, she was given a painting called "Horse in royal blue" by German artist Nicole Leidenfrost, who comes from near Hamburg.
Next, the queen and Prince Philip defied the cold and grey weather to go on a boat trip on Berlin's river Spree before meeting Chancellor Angela Merkel. No details of the conversation with the German chancellor have been made public.
The Windsors will then go on to lay a wreath at "Neue Wache," the German capital's central memorial site for the victims of war and violence since 1993.
Queen Elizabeth will attend a lecture held in her honor at Berlin's Technical University (TU). Berlin's mayor Michael Müller will welcome her there.
The queen is also expected to visit Germany's financial capital, Frankfurt, where she'll visit the historic Paulskirche church. On Friday, she will visit the site of the Bergen-Belsen World War II concentration camp.
Before that, on Wednesday evening, she will return to Bellevue Palace, where a state banquet will be held in her honor.
British Prime Minister David Cameron is also scheduled to attend, in a move seen as signifying the importance of UK-German relations at a time when Cameron is seeking allies for his EU reform drive. He is also set to hold talks with Merkel in the afternoon.
It is Queen Elizabeth's fifth state visit to Germany. She first came in 1965, then in 1978, 1992 and 2004.
ng/msh (dpa, AP)