Queen Elizabeth II is coming to Berlin
Queen Elizabeth II will visit Berlin in 2015. The German capital has long been a popular destination for young Britons.
“The visit will be an unforgettable event that encapsulates both the width and depth of relations between Germany and the UK,” emphasises the UK's ambassador to Germany, Sir Simon McDonald, and points out that the queen's first visit took place precisely 50 years ago. There are indeed many such historical jubilees. The 300th anniversary of the personal union of Great Britain and Hanover in 2014 is now followed in 2015 by the 175th anniversary of the wedding of the German Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Queen Victoria. She was the great-great-grandmother of the present queen.
The anniversaries of the First and Second World Wars remind us of difficult periods in Anglo-German relations. Berlin has an important historical link here. The British War Cemetery remembers the many UK and Commonwealth citizens who lost their lives in and around Berlin during the Second World War. Anyone looking for traces of the British occupation of post-war Berlin will find interesting exhibits in the Allied Museum. “The British played a greater role in the Berlin Airlift than most people realise today,” says museum historian Bernd Kostka. In fact, they were responsible for the idea of supplying the citizens of West Berlin by air during the Soviet blockade. The British soldiers who lived in barracks in Wilmersdorf, Gatow and Spandau left their mark on entire city districts of West Berlin during the post-war period. Bright red telephone boxes were normal street fixtures there until the withdrawal of occupation troops in 1994. Two examples stand in the museum today.
Clubbing in the German capital
Relations between the two countries today are perhaps less likely to find their way into a museum. “Berlin is totally hip,” say staff at the UK Embassy about the city's present-day attraction for Britons: “That's why they form the largest group of tourists.” In 2014 over 450,000 visitors came to Berlin from the UK alone. Young people in particular like to arrive in groups on Friday evening to spend two days clubbing. On Monday morning they then fly back to the British Isles. And roughly 10,000 UK citizens are permanently resident in the German capital. The image of the Germans in the UK has also changed considerably – at the latest, following the 2006 World Cup. Recently the British Museum in London devoted an impressive exhibition to Germany on the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. The interest it attracted demonstrates that the relationship is changing.
175th anniversary of the wedding of Queen Victoria and the German Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on 10 February 2015
