Charles visit – “Last Generation” dumps cooking oil on Hamburger Bridge

Shortly before the visit of British King Charles III. black cooking oil was spilled on the Köhlbrand Bridge in Hamburg and the road was blocked. At least one of the people was stuck on the street on Friday morning and had to be released by the police, the Hamburg police said. The traffic could be forwarded via a lane, whether the bridge needs to be cleaned is still being checked.

The three "Last Generation" activists were taken into custody, police said. In a press release, the climate activism group said that they wanted to show with the action: "We can't go on with oil". The campaign has now ended and traffic is moving again.

King Charles III and his wife Camilla arrived in Hamburg a little later and were received. The royal couple traveled with a delegation accompanied by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender with a regular ICE train from Berlin to the Hanseatic city. There it was welcomed by First Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) at Dammtor station.

The royals signed the city's golden book in Hamburg City Hall. The king took his own fountain pen to sign. In addition to the Federal President and Hamburg's First Mayor, the President of the Parliament, Carola Veit, and the Deputy Mayor, Katharina Fegebank (Greens), were also present.

To the delight of those waiting, Charles and Camilla had briefly appeared on the balcony of City Hall and waved to the crowd. After the entry in the Golden Book, the monarch wants to visit Dockland.

Charles and Camilla's three-day stay in Germany ends on Friday afternoon. The program beforehand includes a wreath-laying ceremony at the St. Nikolai World War Memorial and a boat trip through the port of Hamburg. The event ends with a reception hosted by the British Embassy.

The visit to Germany was the first trip abroad by the new British monarch, who has been in office since the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. A previously planned stay in France had been postponed because of the pension protests there. The choice of destination is also seen as a sign of support for a pro-European course by Britain, which left the EU after the 2016 Brexit referendum.

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