Albert and Charlène in Hamburg
This is how your short visit to the Hanseatic city goes
Princess Charlène and Prince Albert of Monaco are expected in Hamburg on Thursday (April 25) for the opening of a new section in Miniatur Wunderland.
© imago/Starface
In Hamburg, Prince Albert and Princess Charlène of Monaco will meet their homeland in miniature format: This is how the short visit goes.
High-ranking visitors are expected in Hamburg: Prince Albert (66) and Princess Charlène (46) from Monaco will open a new section in the Miniatur Wunderland in the Speicherstadt on Thursday (April 25th) and will arrive for a short visit. But it’s not just the royal couple who are coming to the Hanseatic city, their two children are also doing the honors. This is what is on the agenda for the family.
It is not without reason that the royal family from Monaco is traveling as a group: after a long period of preparation, the new model building section of Monaco is finally completed. The twin brothers Frederik and Gerrit Braun (56) have already published their first impressions of the new part of their miniature world on Instagram. The highlight of the miniature principality is the reconstructed 22-meter-long Grand Prix racing track with complex magnet technology on which miniature Formula One cars drive.
“Over 100,000 lines of programming code were necessary to allow the vehicles to drive along the route realistically and always with a new exit using specially developed software,” it says according to “Hamburger Morgenpost” in a statement. The construction costs for the project were five million euros. “There is probably no one better than Prince Albert and Princess Charlène of Monaco personally who can judge the result of six years of construction,” Frederik Braun is quoted as saying.
Exclusive tour for the royal family
To celebrate the day, the Miniatur Wunderland will close its doors to visitors at 2 p.m. on Thursday, according to “Morgenpost”. Before the opening of the new 36 square meter Monaco section begins at 5:30 p.m., Albert and Charlène, together with their twins Gabrielle and Jacques (9), get an exclusive tour of the famous miniature museum at 2 p.m.
According to media reports, the family arrived in a private jet and was met at the business aviation center by employees of the Monegasque embassy. According to the “Hamburger Abendblatt”. An entire floor with a playroom for the children was also rented in the “Vier Saisonen” hotel on the Binnenalster. Before the opening festivities, a lunch is apparently planned in the star restaurant Haerlin with selected guests. A police escort will accompany the Monegasques during their stay through the Hamburg city area. According to police, no traffic disruptions are expected.
Party in the Speicherstadt Museum
From 6:30 p.m. there is a party planned in the Speicherstadt Museum, where the royal couple will meet Hamburg celebrities. From Friday, April 26th, the Monaco section opened by the royal couple will also be accessible to all visitors to Miniatur Wunderland. It is the world’s largest model railway system and, with 1.4 million visitors every year, is one of the most popular sightseeing destinations in Germany.
The royal couple’s visit to the opening of the Monaco section has probably been planned since 2017. The Braun twins report that there was an “incredibly nice and open conversation with the then ambassador and current foreign minister” in the embassy in Berlin the “Bild” newspaper. However, the royal couple’s final confirmation only arrived a few weeks ago.