"Great honor" - Charles addresses the Bundestag in German

King Charles III and his wife Camilla are currently completing the second day of their state visit to Germany. The central point is the speech of the British monarch in the Bundestag. Before the king's speech, Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) formulated a few words of welcome. Then Charles III. to the podium.

The 74-year-old started in German and thanked right at the beginning for the "great honor" of being able to speak in front of the parliamentarians. He then paid tribute to the numerous German expressions of condolence after the death of his mother Elizabeth II, which he and his family were a "great consolation" in difficult times.

Later, when Charles touched on historical stages of German-British friendship, the monarch partly switched to his native language. His speech dealt with numerous current topics such as the environment and economic policy, but also caused a few laughs in the audience. For example, when Charles was pondering the differences in the understanding of humor between the two nations - and alluded to the German love for the New Year's classic "Dinner for One", which is known to have a cult character in this country.

In addition, the king praised the extensive German help for Ukraine in its defense against Russia. "Germany's decision to provide Ukraine with such great military support is extremely courageous, important and welcome," said the monarch. "Germany and the UK have taken important leadership roles."

At the end of his speech, which lasted almost 25 minutes, Charles thanked him for his attention. In return and as a farewell, there was a standing ovation for the king.

The appearance was previously not without controversy. Left boss Martin Schirdewan criticized the fact that "someone who was literally born with a golden spoon in his mouth" can be written into the family book.

In the morning, Charles first signed Berlin's Golden Book, and at 10:39 a.m. he was greeted by Olaf Scholz (SPD) in front of the Chancellery. The chancellor had not attended the state banquet the evening before – in contrast to his predecessor Angela Merkel (CDU).

After the speech in the Bundestag, the state guest visited the arrival center for Ukrainian refugees at the former Tegel Airport together with Federal President Steinmeier. This ends the visit to the capital.

In the late afternoon, the King and Federal President make a detour to Brandenburg, which takes them to Finowfurt, north-east of Berlin. There they meet soldiers from a German-British engineer battalion from Minden.

Not only is a talk with Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke planned - there should also be action: the soldiers are assembling the last parts of a floating bridge over the Havel-Oder waterway, and the British king is supposed to climb it.

Charles then drives to the eco-village of Brodowin, where he would like to find out more about how a particular type of cheese is made. Charles has been committed to biodynamic agriculture (demeter) for decades. As early as the 1980s, he switched to organic farming on his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire.

150 employees grow vegetables, grain and animal feed in Brodowin on around 2,500 hectares. In addition, 150 dairy cows, 250 dairy goats and 2400 hens are kept on the premises. The products are sold in organic shops - and delivered directly to offices, schools and private individuals as vegetable boxes. The current owner, Ludolf von Maltzan, took over the business in 2006.

He and his wife Katja will greet Charles in the afternoon and show him around the farm. According to their own statements, they want to produce a “Brodowin king cheese” together with the monarch in the dairy. This should “bear an emblem in the form of a crown and be maintained by hand on a daily basis”. Then the pair of Maltzan with Charles III. talking about organic farming and protecting wetlands – the eco-village is located in the Schorfheide-Chorin biosphere reserve.

In his after-dinner speech at the state banquet, the monarch already said that he had learned a lot about biodynamic agriculture on his previous visits to Germany. He also owes the significant improvements in his own farms and soils to German expertise.

Camilla and Büdenbender want to visit a social project in Berlin-Neukölln and the Komische Oper in Berlin-Mitte at the same time.

It is Charles' first trip abroad in his new role as king, which he assumed after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September. Politically, the visit is significant because three years after Britain's exit from the EU, a new chapter in Britain's relations with Europe and Germany is set to begin.