61 Years Ago, When the Future King Charles III Stepped onto German Soil for the First Time

Spring 1962. A four-engine private plane lands on the tarmac at Frankfurt Airport. A man gets out. The same one who piloted this device and who is none other than the Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. A teenager accompanies him: his eldest son, Prince Charles. Which, then 13 years old, set foot on German soil for the first time.

Father and son traveled from London to spend a few days with Prince Philip’s family. In particular, they go to visit the latter’s three older sisters, Princess Marguerite of Hohenlohe-Langeburg, Princess Theodora, wife of the Margrave of Baden, and Princess Sophie of Hanover (their other sister, Princess Cécile, died in 26 years old in 1937, while she was pregnant, in a plane crash with her husband, Grand Duke Georges-Donatus of Hesse-Darmstadt, and their two sons).

Charles has visited Germany more than 40 times

This Wednesday March 29, 2023 in Berlin, Charles was surprised to be offered a very large photo showing him posing in front of the plane that day. A gift given to him by the President of the Federal Republic Frank-Walter Steinmeier during the gala dinner that he offered him and his wife Queen Consort Camilla, on the first evening of their first State visit to Germany.

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German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier unveils a photo of Prince Charles with Prince Philip upon their arrival in Frankfurt in April 1962, during the state banquet in Berlin, March 29, 2023

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“A young journalist, who was still a trainee at the time, took the picture on the tarmac,” the president said in his speech, as reported by the Berlin tabloid “B.Z.“. A photo he described as “charming”, stressing that it was a personal pleasure for him to give it to the sovereign, as a sign of his long-standing connection with Germany.

Charles has visited Germany more than 40 times

Between these two trips, 61 years had passed. Six decades during which Prince Charles had the opportunity to return to Germany many times, either privately – on a family basis – or officially. During this state banquet, he indeed reported having visited this country more than 40 times.

“I also think fondly of the time my wife and I enjoyed Bavarian sausages at a farmers’ market in Munich, and found ourselves drinking beer and waltzing at the Hofbräuhaus (Munich’s famous beer hall, editor’s note) ! I can understand why St Boniface, an English monk, who is famous for preaching in Germany, is also the patron saint of brewers,” he said, adding: “In all these years, and many ways, I was struck by the warmth of the friendship between our nations and the vitality of our partnership in countless areas”.