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British RoyalsKing Charles III

Royal Germany Tour Recap: The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall split their time in Berlin and Munich

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall continued their royal visit of Germany on Thursday with engagements in Berlin and Munich.

Prince Charles paid a solo visit to the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, where he met with the school leaders, toured the facilities, met with students and listened to a short recital.

A student, 25-year-old David Strongin, a violinist, congratulated Prince Charles on Tottenham Hotspurs’ win over Ajax in the Championships League the night before, placing his hand on the Prince’s arm and saying, “Congratulations on the English team’s victory last night,” per the Daily Mail.

Prince Charles spoke with Strongin for a few minutes about football before telling the cellist, Killian White, that he also learned the cello, but “I played very badly, unlike you.”

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The Barenboim-Said Akademie was founded in 1999 “with the aim of uniting young Arab and Israeli musicians” and is funding by the German government, per the Clarence House media release.

The Akademie offers a Bachelor degree “in music for talented young people, mostly from the Middle East and North Africa. The intensive course is delivered in English focuses on humanities and musicology.”

Following Prince Charles’s musical engagement, he and Camilla visited the International Rescue Committee’s base at Impact Hub, which helps with the integration of new refugees in Germany.

During their visit, Prince Charles and Camilla learned more about the Jobs4Refugees project that the International Rescue Committee is currently supporting, which helps refugee women access the job market.

They also had the opportunity to meet with some of the refugee women who have used the project. Before leaving, the Duchess of Cornwall was presented with two knitted scarves as gifts to Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

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Per Clarence House, Jobs4Refugees “coaches both refugees and employers to help meet challenges such as language barriers and problems with the recognition of international qualification.”

The Prince and Duchess then departed Berlin and arrived in Munich to attend an official ceremony at Max-Joseph Platz, where they were greeted by the Minister President of Bavaria.

The royal couple inspected the Honour Guard, which was made up of local mountain riflemen before a three-gun salute was given, after which they undertook a walkabout and greeted the people who had lined up outside to wait for them.

Once again, Their Royal Highnesses were given presents for newborn Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, including a teddy bear, a toy pretzel, and a pair of lederhosen.

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Camilla was given a posy from children who attend the local traditional costume society, and the couple watched a performance by the local boys’ choir before heading into Garden Hall to sign Bavaria’s Golden Book.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall then visited Hofbräuhaus, the Royal Brewery House, where they met with a group of elderly dancers and partook in some dancing themselves. Clarence House stated, “Since 1980, the Hofbräuhaus has offered a weekly dance afternoon for the elderly with live musicians in the historic ballroom. Each Tuesday, over 150 elderly citizens take to the dance floor.”

Prince Charles then paid a solo visit to Siemens, where he learned about the building’s architecture and sustainable technology before viewing a photographic exhibit on the history of Siemens.

Siemens is a multi-national company headquartered in Munich, which focuses on future infrastructure, sustainable energy and “the future of manufacturing” and works closely with the UK.

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Prince Charles signed the Siemens Golden Book during his visit before learning how Siemens UK works with renewable energy production and how it trains the workforce.

Their final engagement of the day saw the royal couple attending a dinner at the Munich Residenz in the Imperial Hall. At the pre-dinner reception, Their Royal Highnesses met with politicians, academics, and researchers who collaborate with the UK, and members of the British community in Munich.

Prince Charles gave a toast at the dinner, saying that “Our visit to Germany this week has been an occasion to celebrate the myriad connections between our two countries and the countless partnerships between our people, which make the most profound difference to both of our economies and our societies.”

Their four-day tour of Germany ended on Friday with engagements in Munich.

About author

Jess Ilse is the Assistant Editor at Royal Central. She specialises in the British, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Royal Families and has been following royalty since Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. Jess has provided commentary for media outlets in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Jess works in communications and her debut novel THE MAJESTIC SISTERS will publish in Fall 2024.