British State visit to France [postponed] & Germany, 26-31 March 2023


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Have all the German parts of the speech been fully translated somewhere? I wonder why the website didn't do that before posting it.
 
Prinsara said:
Have all the German parts of the speech been fully translated somewhere? I wonder why the website didn't do that before posting it.
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The link I posted has all parts translated.
His speech at the state dinner the day before hasn't been officially translated, those two parts he spoke in German I did a translation (if you look at older posts).

People here love it when a foreign guest speaks a little German, it shows his endevour and how important it is for him. i guess that is the same in all countries. I really cannot remember any foreign sovereign or politician having made such a speech as Charles.

Back in the Sixties, John F. Kennedy who was an idol here for many young people said that one sentence when he visited Berlin " Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner). You can hardly imagine how that one sentence is still in the memory of many Germans, a quite historic sentence.

The two speeches of Charles will be historic, no doubt about it.
 
SLV said:
Great speech. But why the switching to and back from English and German? Since the King has little trouble speaking it, why not just do the whole speech in German?
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I don't think he has little trouble speaking the language. He did his best, I am sure, but making a speech all in a foreign language which he doesn't speak daily, is difficult. We honour very much that he has put so much work and effort into those two speeches, my whole admiration!

When I was a student in the US many years back and I had to do all my term papers in English which wasn't easy, but I managed. The horror of it all was when I had to speak in class with all the American students listening. Because I knew I could never be as perfect than they were, because it wasn't my native language.
 
From what I've seen on German media, the visit has been very well received and well covered. The symbolism has not been lost on the Germans and it definitely feels like a reboot for relations post-Brexit. A renewed optimism.

The service at St. Nikolai was very moving and I was happy to see TM's given such a warm welcome.
 
hereditarytitles said:
I don't think he has little trouble speaking the language. He did his best, I am sure, but making a speech all in a foreign language which he doesn't speak daily, is difficult. We honour very much that he has put so much work and effort into those two speeches, my whole admiration!

When I was a student in the US many years back and I had to do all my term papers in English which wasn't easy, but I managed. The horror of it all was when I had to speak in class with all the American students listening. Because I knew I could never be as perfect than they were, because it wasn't my native language.
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I quite agree. To me it seemed that Charles must have put a lot of effort into rehearsing the German parts of the speech. It didn't come to him very naturally, but it was thoroughly well prepared. So doing the whole speech in German probably would have been too much. But still, I think his efforts very, very much appreciated on the German side.
My perception is, that Germans (politicians, journalists, everybody) perceived this visit as a great success and a booster for improving post-Brexit relations.
 
Have the British guests not offered a banquet or an evening at the theatre to thank for the hospitality? I must sat I do not remember if Queen Elizabeth "did" return the favor during her State Visits.
 
Duc_et_Pair said:
Have the British guests not offered a banquet or an evening at the theatre to thank for the hospitality? I must sat I do not remember if Queen Elizabeth "did" return the favor during her State Visits.
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At her State visit in 2004 there was a concert at the Berliner Philharmonie and in 2015 it was a Garden party at the Residence of the british Ambassador to Germany.
 
Stefan said:
At her State visit in 2004 there was a concert at the Berliner Philharmonie and in 2015 it was a Garden party at the Residence of the british Ambassador to Germany.
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A Garden Party already is minimal and this week there was nothing. It is a pity because usually the return event is a chance for another guests like the King's German relatives or people of importance in British-German relations like the CEO of BMW (owner of Rolls-Royce and Mini), like the CEO of Deutsche Bahn (owner of 6 British railway companies), like the Chief Conductor of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and former Chief Conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker (Sir Simon Rattle). Usually a return event has a broader scope than the Iron Guestlist of a first day. It feels the State Visit is rushed and "goodbyeeee!".
 
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Duc_et_Pair said:
Have the British guests not offered a banquet or an evening at the theatre to thank for the hospitality? I must sat I do not remember if Queen Elizabeth "did" return the favor during her State Visits.
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The British Embassy arranged a reception at the Historical Shed of the Hamburg Port, 1000 guests were invited, but they didn't publish any names. See picture 22
 
hereditarytitles said:
The British Embassy arranged a reception at the Historical Shed of the Hamburg Port, 1000 guests were invited, but they didn't publish any names. See picture 22
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Yes I have seen that, but I understood this was the traditional reception for the compatriots in the country the royals are visiting. In all State Visits, by Sweden, by Norway, by Spain, by the Netherlands etc. there is always a reception with their respective communities, usually on the second or third day of a State Visit.

My impression of that event in Hamburg was exactly the King and Queen Camilla meeting British compatriots whom have made a living or are entrepreneurs in Germany.

I have not understood this was a return event to their German hosts which usually is a banquet, or a concert, or a ballet, or a theatre performance, on a representative location, packing out with all glanz und gloria.
 
Duc_et_Pair said:
Yes I have seen that, but I understood this was the traditional reception for the compatriots in the country the royals are visiting. In all State Visits, by Sweden, by Norway, by Spain, by the Netherlands etc. there is always a reception with their respective communities, usually on the second or third day of a State Visit.

My impression of that event in Hamburg was exactly the King and Queen Camilla meeting British compatriots whom have made a living or are entrepreneurs in Germany.

I have not understood this was a return event to their German hosts which usually is a banquet, or a concert, or a ballet, or a theatre performance, on a representative location, packing out with all glanz und gloria.
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Ok, I understand . In comparison to 2015 there wasn't anything. Maybe time was too short to arrange that. I think their schedule was quite full, not much time for them to rest (always having in mind that they are in their Seventies)
 
hereditarytitles said:
Ok, I understand . In comparison to 2015 there wasn't anything. Maybe time was too short to arrange that. I think their schedule was quite full, not much time for them to rest (always having in mind that they are in their Seventies)
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State visits always have quite a few engagements - and if they cannot handle it in two days (which I doubt: Charles has been busy his whole life), they can come for three. It shouldn't be too hard to organize a return event if all other countries seem to be able to... Not enought time is not a valid excuse imho; they have a team to prepare and it is possible to find time in the schedule if you want to. Moreover, it is just a common courtesy to thank your host; and during a state visit a 'return event' is the way to do so. Hopefully in future state visits they correct this mistake and don't behave as if they are 'above' their hosts.
 
hereditarytitles said:
I haven't watched todays schedule of King Charles, but just as a side note:

My son is a history student, mainly studying German and Eastern European history. My family knows about me being an anglophile for many years, convincing them all to go on holiday to Great Britain many times (Most Germans go to Spain and Italy during the summer). And they didn't really understand why I am writing in the royal forum.

My son came today to tell me that he watched Charles speech at the Bundestag and he was completely overwhelmed of his speech , all the historical aspects that he spoke about, that he talked so much in German, the effort he put into that, so very impressing! No politician so far made such a positive and deep impression on many people here.
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Wow, that's nice!

I've learned German years ago and while it's a very nice language, it's quite a difficult one for me to learn, especially the grammar part :D. I appreciate King Charles to speak in German. I know Prince Philip spoke the language as well, but I didn't know how fluent King Charles is in German.
 
Saragli said:
From what I've seen on German media, the visit has been very well received and well covered. The symbolism has not been lost on the Germans and it definitely feels like a reboot for relations post-Brexit. A renewed optimism.

The service at St. Nikolai was very moving and I was happy to see TM's given such a warm welcome.
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Yes it was very well received. I did not post here about it but I followed the visit in German media.
Regarding Charles' German, it was very good and I am sure he can follow a conversation without any problem, what does not mean that he can hold one in German himself. And that's more than the usual royal can do.
I mentioned it before in other threads, eg Queen Silvia is German but her German has become very weird when she speaks, to the degree that I would not think that it is her mother tongue, so I guess Charles put a lot of effort into it not being used to the language on a regular basis.

This article is from Spiegel:
https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/kin...schaft-a-5c888287-ebdd-4109-bf2c-f2b4edc36f37
 
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Somebody said:
Hopefully in future state visits they correct this mistake and don't behave as if they are 'above' their hosts.
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I bet the German hosts didn't feel one second snubbed by their British guests during this, highly sucessful, visit.

Return events are more and more the exception during shorter and shorter State visits. In fact i don't even remember a return banquet given by/for the British royals in years. No return event was scheduled for the now postponed French State visit for instance.

Frankly nobodys seems to mind...
 
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Nico said:
I bet the German hosts didn't feel one second snubbed by their British guests during this, highly sucessful, visit.

Return events are more and more the exception during shorter and shorter State visits. In fact i don't even remember a return banquet given by/for the British royals in years. No return event was scheduled for the now postponed French State visit for instance.

Frankly nobodys seems to mind...
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The fact that it is discussed here means that some people do mind... Of course, their hosts are not going to complain but that doesn't mean that they consider it bad manners that the British royals don't care about this custom - and are not interested in attending a return event when someone visits them either. Even the Guildhall dinner (which wasn't attend by queen Elizabeth - but by one or more of her family members) was eliminated during the Dutch state visit in 2018.
 
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Durham said:
Goodness yes that's quite a turnout.
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Yep - since Germany has since more than 100 years no Monarch on its own, foreign Royals are the next best thing...

Besides: I saw, King Charles brought his own car - the famous Bentley - from the UK.
 
Somebody said:
The fact that it is discussed here means that some people do mind... Of course, their hosts are not going to complain but that doesn't mean that they consider it bad manners that the British royals don't care about this custom - and are not interested in attending a return event when someone visits them either. Even the Guildhall dinner (which wasn't attend by queen Elizabeth - but by one or more of her family members) was eliminated during the Dutch state visit in 2018.
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Maybe some snobs or royal watchers do mind but frankly the general public or even the diplomatic world couldn't care less. the State Visit was a sucess nevertheless.

Visits of this magnitude are planned months in advance and agreed both sides. So if a return event was not scheduled, that's because both sides agreed it was not needed. It's as simple as that, so no need to enter in the German officials'minds to try to find some trace of outrage. There's none.

The fact is that return events are not the norm anymore, and not especially at the British Court. It's a sign of faster, more efficient and let's thay less ostentatious State Visits.
 
Nico said:
Maybe some snobs or royal watchers do mind but frankly the general public or even the diplomatic world couldn't care less. the State Visit was a sucess nevertheless.

Visits of this magnitude are planned months in advance and agreed both sides. So if a return event was not scheduled, that's because both sides agreed it was not needed. It's as simple as that, so no need to enter in the German officials'minds to try to find some trace of outrage. There's none.

The fact is that return events are not the norm anymore, and not especially at the British Court. It's a sign of faster, more efficient and let's thay less ostentatious State Visits.
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No, that's not a fact. I would agree that return events seem to no longer be the norm for state visits in which the British are involved, however, they are still the norm for other state visits (at least those including monarchies - I don't know much about state visits between republics).

The return events have evolved from having 'another dinner' to more cultural events (it seems queen Beatrix was the one that started this trend) that allow the visiting country to showcase some of their culture abroad, which make it a very valuable part of the visit for the visiting country as well as making it a bit more balanced.
 
Somebody said:
No, that's not a fact. I would agree that return events seem to no longer be the norm for state visits in which the British are involved, however, they are still the norm for other state visits (at least those including monarchies - I don't know much about state visits between republics).
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lula said:
Spanish State Visit to Angola; February 6th-8th, 2023
Monday 6

Arrival in Luanda.

Tuesday 7

Ceremony at the memorial to Agostinho Neto, the country's first president.
Reception with honors at the Presidential Palace by the president and the First lady, Ana Afonso Dias.
Signature of three memorandums of understanding between the two countries on sports cooperation, cooperation between the respective diplomatic schools and on industry.
Lunch in honor of the King and Queen offered by the Angolan president and the First lady.
Presentation on the International University of Cuanza promoted by the FUNIBER Foundation that seeks to promote the teaching of Spanish and the exchange of students and teachers.
Inauguration of the Joan Miró exhibition, "The song of the Sun and acrostatic wonders".
Reception to the Spanish community in Angola.

Wednesday 8

King Felipe and the President of Angola will inaugurate the business meeting 'Together building the future'.
Queen Letizia and the First lady will visit a maternity hospital.
Visit to the National Assembly of Angola, where King Felipe will give a speech.
https://www.europapress.es/nacional...stado-africa-subsahariana-20230205113153.html
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Where is a return event?
 
Spheno said:
Where is a return event?
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I don't see a state banquet either; so there was nothing to return. Would you want to claim that state banquets are also out of fashion/no longer the norm?

However, it seems we are going off-topic. We might want to move the discussion about common features during a state visit to a different thread.
 
The Badens and Langenburgs came to the reception at Berlin
 
victor1319 said:
Yep - since Germany has since more than 100 years no Monarch on its own, foreign Royals are the next best thing...

Besides: I saw, King Charles brought his own car - the famous Bentley - from the UK.
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Bentley is owned by the German giant car maker Volkswagen. Maybe the King was - unintendedly- shining German entrepreneurship in the UK.
 
Nico said:
Maybe some snobs or royal watchers do mind but frankly the general public or even the diplomatic world couldn't care less. the State Visit was a sucess nevertheless.

Visits of this magnitude are planned months in advance and agreed both sides. So if a return event was not scheduled, that's because both sides agreed it was not needed. It's as simple as that, so no need to enter in the German officials'minds to try to find some trace of outrage. There's none.

The fact is that return events are not the norm anymore, and not especially at the British Court. It's a sign of faster, more efficient and let's thay less ostentatious State Visits.
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It is a spiteful development because what is wrong to see a ballet in the Palais Garnier, or attending music by Lully and fireworks in the park of Versailles, watch the races in Longchamp or Chantilly, or have a return banquet in the Athenée? When a State Visit has to be "efficient": scrap that whole tralala and do it with a meeting via Teams or Zoom.
 
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Duc_et_Pair said:
It is a spiteful development because what is wrong to see a ballet in the Palais Garnier, or attending music by Lully and fireworks in the park of Versailles, watch the races in Longchamp or Chantilly, or have a return banquet in the Athenée? When a State Visit has to be "efficient": scrap that whole tralala and do it with a meeting via Teams or Zoom.
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With all due respect you are living in another decade, if not century.

The good ol days of the State Visits from the 50's to the 90's are long gone. It' just not acceptable for the general public, or at least a very vocal part of it, anymore. Period. I'm the first to regret it but at the same time the royals have to adapt to a world where even the meaning of State Visits are questioned.

It' sad for sure, but that's reality.
 
Cant see waht the problem is. Charles is not a young man nad Im sure he does not mind a shorter less expensive state visit.
 
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