King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier for Three-Day State Visit

King Charles welcomed German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to the United Kingdom on Wednesday at the start of a three-day state visit, reflecting ongoing efforts to strengthen ties between the two countries following Brexit.

This marks the first state visit to the UK by a German president in 27 years, and follows Charles’s own trip to Germany in 2023, which was his first official overseas visit after becoming king. The king and Queen Camilla greeted President Steinmeier and his wife, Elke Büdenbender, in Windsor before joining them in a carriage procession to Windsor Castle, accompanied by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The visit mirrors the format of other recent state visits but is expected to be more publicly visible than the one hosted for the U.S. president, which involved significantly tighter security arrangements.

Later on Wednesday, President Steinmeier is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street before attending a state banquet at Windsor Castle.

The visit follows several high-level exchanges between the UK and European partners in recent months. In July, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz travelled to Britain to sign a new treaty aimed at improving UK-EU relations, and the French president completed a three-day state visit the same month.

On Thursday, the German president and his wife will lay flowers at the tomb of the late Queen Elizabeth and view the State Sleigh, originally designed by Prince Albert, the German husband of Queen Victoria. Steinmeier will also address members of parliament and meet German footballers currently playing for Premier League clubs.

The visit concludes on Friday with a trip to Coventry, a city heavily bombed during the Second World War. There, the president will lay a wreath in the ruins of the old cathedral alongside the Duke of Kent, who attended similar commemorations earlier this year marking the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Dresden.