King Charles dines with president, cousins and Strictly judge at banquet
King Charles and the Queen Consort made an impressive entry at tonight’s state banquet at Schloss Bellevue presidential palace in Berlin.
The royal couple are visiting Germany in what is the King’s very first overseas trip since he became monarch.
His Majesty had been due to visit France, but the visit was cancelled last-minute in light of the ongoing civil unrest over president Emmanuel Macron’s pension bill.
It means the honour of hosting Charles and Camilla on their first royal tour falls to Germany’s president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Budenbender.
Stepping off on the red carpet on the steps of the palace, they were welcomed by their hosts before posing for photographers.
The band of the Federal Armed forces played, before they made their way inside to be introduced to guests.
Camilla dazzled in a black evening gown with silver embroidery, accompanied by a diamond tiara, which has previously been worn by the late Queen Elizabeth.
His Majesty addressed guests in both English and German, addressing the bond between Britain and one of the EU’s leading nations that ‘will grow ever stronger’.
He drew laughs from guests at the white-tie event when he referenced a British comedy sketch hugely popular in Germany called ‘dinner for one’, about an old aristocrat who dines alone while her waiter gets progressively more drunk as he consumes alcohol poured for her missing dinner guests.
On a more serious note, Charles pledged to ‘strengthen the connections’ between the two countries in a post-Brexit world.
‘The relationship between Germany and the UK matters greatly to me, too, Mr President, and I am more convinced than ever of its enduring value to us all,’ he said.
‘It means so much to us that my wife and I could come to Germany for this very first overseas tour of my reign.
‘I can only assure you, that throughout the time that is granted to me as King, I will do all I can to strengthen the connections between us.’
Among the guests were a few celebrities, including German resident and former Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse, and distant German relations of the King.
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