King Charles III arrived Wednesday in Berlin , accompanied by his wife Camilla, on his first state visit abroad since his accession to the throne of Britain , in what the German president considered an "important European gesture" after the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union.

The white plane, flying the UK flag, landed at Berlin International Airport and came to a stop in the airport's military area garage, where a red carpet was rolled out at the bottom of the stairs.

The King and his wife, after being received by the German Chief of Protocol and the British Ambassador to Germany, went to the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin, where they were received by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife.
The famous Unter den Linden avenue was decorated with the British flag on the occasion of the visit of the king, who is the first guest on a state visit to be received with military honors at the feet of this famous monument that has been a symbol of the division of the city for three decades.

The German president, who accompanies Charles III at every stop, described his visit as an "important European gesture".

The visit was in anticipation of many Germans, who waited hours, hoping to enter the site where the reception ceremonies take place.

"It's the king's first visit," said Anja Witting, 50, a shoe store employee who came with her 18-year-old daughter from Oldensburg in western Germany. "We want to celebrate that, no matter how long it takes."

For his part, said student Mike Mattis (21 years), who came from Munich to Berlin for the Easter holidays, "I came here by chance," but it is "a good occasion (...) and watching the events live is better than watching them on TV."

There are 1,100 policemen with reinforcements from other regions, as well as twenty bomb-sniffing dogs. Some major roads were closed to traffic in the center of the capital.

"The royal couple wished they could communicate directly with the people of Berlin," police chief Thomas Drechler told German media.
Later, the King will head to the Presidential Palace, where a reception will be held within the framework of this visit, which constitutes an official occasion to celebrate the friendly relations between the two countries.

"I want to say to him and certainly to all Britons: We in Germany and in Europe want close and friendly relations with the United Kingdom even after Brexit," said the German president, who invited Charles III during Elizabeth II's funeral in September.

On Thursday, the king will hold talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in particular, and he will stroll with the mayor of the capital in a market, deliver a speech in the House of Representatives and meet Ukrainian refugees.

The couple's visit to Germany ends Friday in Hamburg, Germany's second largest city.

The king and his wife were supposed to go first to France before Germany, but the visit was canceled due to protests related to the reform of the pension system in this country.

Queen Elizabeth made a recent visit to Germany in 2015 during the reign of Chancellor Anguilla Merkel, and the visit aroused great enthusiasm in the country.

As for her most important visit, it was in 1965, when the wall separated the two parts of Berlin. The visit was seen as the station that dedicated reconciliation between the two countries after World War II.

Michael Hartmann, a sociologist at Dammstadt University, told AFP that the Germans are big supporters of the British royal family and their "great interest" in it did not fade even after the death of the once popular Queen Elizabeth.