King Charles III hosted a historic state banquet for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Windsor Castle, featuring a towering 20-foot Christmas tree in St George's Hall. The glittering event marks the first time in modern royal history that a state banquet has explicitly incorporated a Christmas tree.
The visit is the first by a German leader to the UK in 27 years and represents the third state visit hosted by King Charles this year. The monarch has not hosted three state visits in a single year since Queen Elizabeth II did so in 1988, making this a milestone despite Charles currently receiving cancer treatment.
The spectacular Christmas tree, decorated with 15,000 sparkling lights and green and gold ornaments, necessitated practical adjustments. The mahogany dining table was shortened to 45 metres, and the guest list reduced from the usual 160 to 152. A palace aide said: «It's shorter because of the whopper tree and the guest numbers have been reduced to 152 to make room. It looks magnificent.»
Strengthening UK-Germany ties
The three-day visit aims to underscore the Kensington Treaty signed in July, the first formal pact between the UK and Germany since the second world war. The treaty outlines closer cooperation on migration, defence, trade, and education.
President Steinmeier emphasized the improved relationship before private talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street. «We have a new security situation in Europe, if not in the whole world. So therefore there is a need of closer cooperation,» he said. «After some years with growing difficulties after 2016 I think we are in far better shape and we have to engage in improving the situation and coming closer in this changing world with new threats to all of us.»
Starmer highlighted the nations' alignment on critical issues, stating they «worked very, very closely on hugely important issues like Ukraine, where our two countries think alike and act alike, on issues of migration and on economic growth and trade, where we go from strength to strength.»
Royal welcome and personal moments
The visit began with military pomp, including a 41-gun royal salute and a carriage ride through Windsor's streets for Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender with the King and Queen Camilla. Prince William and Princess Catherine greeted the German couple at Heathrow airport.
During the welcome, a lip reader deciphered Catherine discussing renovation plans for the family's new home, Forest Lodge. «We are putting together some mood boards for the room and we will start after Christmas,» she told Büdenbender, who responded: «Good decision, that makes sense. Can you send me pictures when they're done?»
The Prince and Princess of Wales recently moved from four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage to the eight-bedroom Georgian-style Forest Lodge, built in the 1770s in Windsor Great Park.
Lavish banquet details
The state banquet included 152 guests seated at tables set with 760 glasses, 152 spoons, 320 knives, and 320 forks from the silver gilt Grand Service commissioned by George IV. The menu, written in French as is custom, featured Windsor partridge supreme and baked Alaska.
A Black Forest gateau cocktail was created specifically for the occasion, continuing King Charles's tradition of personalized tipples for state banquets. The wine list diplomatically included German, English, and French wines, with a 1995 Chateau La Fleur-Petrus chosen as tribute to the year of the President's marriage.
Guests included supermodel Claudia Schiffer, Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse, Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler, and former footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger. The Duchess of Edinburgh's String Orchestra performed works by German composers including Strauss, Mendelssohn, and Handel, alongside film scores by Hans Zimmer.
German Christmas tradition
The prominent Christmas tree echoes a tradition popularized in Britain by Queen Victoria and her German husband Prince Albert. Earlier, German-born Queen Charlotte had introduced the idea of a yew branch Christmas tree to Windsor Castle in the late 18th century when she was consort to George III.
The visit's itinerary includes a visit to the ruins of Coventry cathedral, bombed during the second world war, and an address to parliamentarians.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
