BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel joined Berliners in rolling out the red carpet for Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday, kicking off a state visit to Germany steeped in symbolism as Britain debates its EU future.

Dyed-in-the-wool fans and tourists braved leaden skies to line the banks of the Spree River where the 89-year-old queen and her husband, Prince Philip, 94, took a brief boat trip though the capital’s political district.

As the open-air boat “Ajax” came into view with its German flag fluttering in the wind, cheers rippled through the crowd patiently waiting for a glimpse of the royal couple, who waved back.

“Your majesty”, shouted one hopeful onlooker; another played Britain’s National Anthem on a mobile phone. Cellphone cameras held high tried to capture a fleeting moment of the queen’s fifth state visit to Germany.

Some waved British flags; others talked about the queen’s attire — an elegant white dress coat with a brimmed hat and gloves. But the much discussed colour palette of her wardrobe was not the only quality admired.

“Her charisma, her discipline and the lovely clothes!” enthused Berlin resident Roswitha Meiritz, 76, who said she had a fascination with the queen and had also gone to see her on her first state visit in 1965.

Her 63-year-long reign, her “reserved” manner and accomplishment as a representative of Britain also came in for praise from Germans who nevertheless professed no desire to see a return of their own monarchy.

“Here, that wouldn’t suit us any more,” said Siegfried Brcher, 57, who works for car maker BMW and had travelled with his wife, Helga, from southern Bavaria state just to see the queen.The queen went on to meet Merkel at the chancellor’s ultra-modern offices.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2015

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