[News] Prince Charles to urge UK and Germany to 'reaffirm bond'

[XZoro]

The Prince of Wales will urge nations to stand up against intolerance and strive for a "better tomorrow" during a remembrance ceremony in Germany.

 

 

As post-Brexit trade talks continue, Prince Charles will also call on the UK and Germany to "reaffirm" their bond in a "new chapter in our long history".

His wife, Camilla, has joined him on their first official overseas visit since the start of the Covid pandemic.

They attended a wreath-laying ceremony at memorial in Berlin.

During his speech to the Bundestag, the German parliament, later on Sunday afternoon the prince will say the global crises of the pandemic and climate change "demand" that the the UK and Germany "act together".

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were welcomed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Budenbender on the steps of the Bellevue Palace in Berlin.

The four then travelled to the Neue Wache Central Memorial, dedicated to victims of war and tyranny, where a wreath had been laid on behalf of the prince in front of a sculpture titled Mother With Her Dead Son.

Prince Charles briefly touched the wreath before joining the president and four other German dignitaries in a silence as a trumpet solo echoed through the building.

The message on the prince's poppy wreath read: "In everlasting remembrance of all victims of conflict and tyranny. Charles."

Camilla then laid a posy featuring rosemary for remembrance and olive, white daisies and nerines for peace.

A statement from Clarence House before the visit said: "The event pays tribute to the Allied commitment to the liberation from Nazi occupation and to the reconstruction, re-democratisation and subsequent reunification of Germany."

'Interests entwined'
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall are the first members of the Royal Family to attend the ceremony at the German parliament in Berlin, marking the country's National Day of Mourning for victims of war.

They flew to Berlin Brandenburg Airport on Saturday evening in the UK's ministerial RAF Voyager jet - the first time it has flown dignitaries since a makeover costing almost £1m.

The prince, who celebrated his 72nd birthday on Saturday, was presented with a birthday cake during the flight.

The speech comes 75 years after the end of World War Two and will highlight the friendship between the UK and Germany. And it comes as post-Brexit trade talks are reaching their crucial final stages.

The prince is expected to say: "We must be resolute in addressing acts of unspeakable cruelty against people for reasons of their religion, their race or their beliefs, wherever they occur in the world.

"We must stand alongside each other in determined defence of the future we owe our children and our grandchildren."

He will add: "We are heavily invested in each other's futures, such that our national interests, whilst distinct, will always be entwined...

"Let us reflect on all that we have been through together, and all that we have learned. Let us remember all victims of war, tyranny and persecution; those who laid down their lives for the freedoms we cherish, and those who struggle for these freedoms to this day."

The Royal Family have carried out a number of European visits since the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016.

During a tour of Germany in May last year, Prince Charles said the bonds between the UK and Germany "will, and must endure" post-Brexit.

And when his son, the Duke of Cambridge, visited the country in 2016, William said the depth of Britain's friendship with Germany would not change after the UK left the EU.

Ahead of his trip, the Prince Charles held a telephone meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.