Germany's president accepts invitation for state visit to UK in December

LONDON (AP) — Germany’s president will make a state visit to the United Kingdom in early December, Buckingham Palace said Monday.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will host Frank-Walter Steinmeier and first lady Elke Büdenbender at Windsor Castle from Dec. 3-5.

While Steinmeier has visited the U.K. on a number of occasions, the trip will mark the first time since 1958 that the German head of state will be feted with a formal state visit — a unique experience for any visiting dignitary.

Such visits involve all the best in pomp and pageantry that Britain can offer, including salutes from soldiers in tall bearskin hats, carriage rides and a lavish state banquet. The events often celebrate the close ties between Britain and its allies, but they can also be used to put pressure on less friendly states to make concessions.

Invitations for state visits are made by the monarch at the request of the elected government.

Charles visited Germany in 2023 on his first foreign trip as Britain’s monarch, hoping to improve the U.K.’s relations with the European Union and show he can win hearts and minds abroad, just as his mother did for seven decades.

In a speech in which the king flipped from English to German, Charles stressed the close bonds between the United Kingdom and Germany going back centuries, including his own family links to the royal House of Hannover and the present-day economic, scientific, cultural and military cooperation between the two countries.