Dutch royals arrive in Berlin for 3-day state visit
July 5, 2021
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier greeted Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima at his official residence, Bellevue Palace, at the start of a three-day state visit to Berlin on Monday.
On arrival at a rainy Berlin airport, the royal couple was greeted with a traditional 21-gun salute. They were then driven to the palace to meet with Steinmeier.
An agenda of high culture and politics
The visit is confined to Berlin. It is expected that over the three-day visit, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will fit in many visits to cultural and scientific institutions.
Their itinerary is not being released in advance to the public in order to prevent crowds and crowding at the sites they plan to attend over the course of their stay due to the pandemic.
The state visit was initially scheduled for last year but was delayed for the same reason.
It is also anticipated the royal couple will meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel and have a political discussion with her.
A royal love of Germany
While it is King Willem-Alexander's first state visit to Germany since ascending the throne in 2013, he and Queen Maxima have visited all 16 federal states of Germany.
Most recently they toured Brandenburg which surrounds Berlin in 2019.
The king's father, Prince Claus, was born in Germany.
What have the royals been up to so far?
King Willem-Alexander with Queen Maxima first visited the Anne Frank Centre in the German capital hours after arriving in the city.
The Dutch royals were earlier at the Brandenburg Gate with Mayor of Berlin Michael Müller.
The couple will also visit the Robert Koch Institute, which has led the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in all of Germany.
jc, ar/jlw (AP, dpa)