The Queen Consort paid tribute to the survivors of the Kindertransport by laying a single white rose on the memorial in Hamburg today.
The royal couple visited the site to mark the 85th anniversary of the remarkable rescue mission in 1938, which granted 10,000 child refugees entry into the UK from Nazi Germany.
The royal, 75, looked pensive as she laid the flower on the ‘Final Parting’ bronze sculpture, which was first erected in 2015.
The memorial depicts two groups of children – those in the lighter brown representing the children who were evacuated to new lives abroad while those cast in the darker colour represent the thousands of children who were transported by train to concentration camps.
Created by Frank Meisler, it is one of five such installations across Europe, one of which is at Liverpool Street Station in London.
The Queen Consort was dressed in an Anna Valentine coat and wore a Queen Victoria brooch, a wedding gift from Prince Albert
During their visit, Their Majesties met Nick Teller, the British honourary consul and chair of the Kindertransport Organisation, Ms Lisa Bechner, who was awarded an honourary MBE in 2022 ‘for services to UK-Germany relations and the British commemoration of the Kindertransport rescue effort’.
Ms Bechner first met the King at a palace garden party before he ascended the Throne.
She said: ‘Even as Prince of Wales the King was very supportive and people from the Kindertransport scheme memorial meet every five years at Buckingham Palace or St James’s Palace.
‘Now, with this Royal visit, it is the first time the German government are showing appreciation of the sculptures and that is why it is important.’
After visiting the memorial, the King and Queen Consort walked towards the crowd.
Lorenz Bille handed the King a gift – a ship in a glass bottle.
He said: ‘I told the King I have a present for you if you want it and he did.’
Timo Makela, 64, said: ‘I waited here three hours to see the King and Queen. I explained to him that I had seen his son Prince William before and his father Prince Philip.’
The memorial was first erected in 2015 and is one of five such sculptures across Europe
A glimpse of a Union Jack flag could be seen on the balcony of City Hall as they waved at members of the public
The Queen Consort shook hands with well wishers. A woman called Claudia said: ‘The Queen told me ‘It’s a bit wet’. I said ‘I’m sorry about that!’
Earlier today, the King and Queen Consort arrived to cheers of ‘God Save The King!’ at Hamburg’s Dammtor station – having made the 1hr 45 minute journey on the train from Berlin.
They were met on the platform by the First Mayor of Hamburg Peter Tschentscher and his wife Eva María and walked downstairs with the mayoral couple, President Steinmeier and is wife Elke Büdenbender and their entourage.
Camilla, 74, wore a blue Anna Valentine coat and dress with a sapphire and diamond brooch given to Queen Victoria by German-born Prince Albert on their wedding day.
Crowds waited for them behind cordons inside the station and cheered wildly as the royal visitors appeared, with one man shouting ‘God Save the King!’
The royal party had taken over a carriage of the train and aides carried off their luggage.
Outside, the royal couple held umbrellas for the short walk to the Kindertransport memorial.
King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and First Lady Elke Buedenbender wave to the public from the balcony
The King and Queen Consort waved to adoring crowds at Hamburg City Hall on the last day of their state visit
This morning, the couple left Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof Station to catch a fast train to the port city of Hamburg accompanied by President Steinmeier and his wife.
Looking elegant in her navy outfit, Camilla proudly displayed the brooch in tribute to German-born Prince Albert.
Albert had secretly commissioned the jewel from Garrards as a present for his bride-to be.
Victoria was so thrilled with the gift that she wrote in her diary that her adored husband has given her ‘a splendid brooch, a large sapphire set round with diamonds, which is really quite beautiful.’
She wore the gift, which consists of a large sapphire in the centre surrounded by 12 brilliant diamonds set in gold, frequently.
She even designated it to be a heirloom of the Crown, which means that it has been passed down every Queen Regnant and Consort since.
King Charles met with members of the public outside Hamburg City Hall and shook their hands
The King was smiling and in his element as he shook hands with adoring fans outside the city hall
Royal fans were wrapped up and wore waterproof outfits to brave the drizzling rain in a bid to catch a glimpse of the King
A sea of black umbrellas could be seen as King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla paid their respects during a wreath-laying ceremony at the St Nikolai Memorial Church
It was often worn by Queen Elizabeth and has now been given to her daughter-in-law, Camilla, who was today seen wearing it for the first time since her husband’s accession.
At Berlin Hauptbanhof, royal fans were pictured waiting in the rain wearing waterproof ponchos to catch a glimpse of the King and Queen Consort, carrying Union Jack flags.
As the royals arrived at the station and the red carpet was rolled out, heavily armed police officers wearing khaki security vests were seen on the lookout in the area.
The King stood shoulder to shoulder with Germany’s President in a symbol of reconciliation as they laid wreaths in remembrance of the victims of war.
In the ruins of a bombed out Hamburg church, destroyed like much of the city by Second World War Allied raids, the King and German leader Frank-Walter Steinmeier, stood motionless after leaving floral tributes.
The King looked solemn in silence as he attended the church and wreaths were laid, while the Queen Consort stood behind him
The King stood with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Buedenbender, as well as Hamburg’s Mayor Peter Tschentscher (left)
Choirboys dressed in red held white roses and handed one each to the Queen Consort and First Lady Elke Buedenbender
The King looked solemn and held up a black umbrella as he paid his respects at the memorial ceremony
The King smiled at the crowds and raised his hand to wave at them as he walked by, surrounded by officials
St Nikolai Memorial Church’s towering spire was a landmark used by bomber crews as they targeted the city port but the sacred space has now become a monument against war.
Coventry Cathedral was also left a shattered ruin after a Second World War bombing raid by the Nazis and Lutheran Bishop Kirsten Fehrs read the famous Coventry Litany of Reconciliation.
Before reading the poignant words she told those gathered: ‘At this special place of remembrance where eighty years ago under National Socialism this church was destroyed by bombs.
‘We stand in solidarity with people throughout the world who strive for reconciliation in the face of violence and war, (we are) deeply grateful for this moment of unity.’
‘Let us set an example for understanding peace with the deeply moving and unifying Coventry Litany of Reconciliation.’
The Queen Consort, 75, looked pensive as she laid a single white rose at the Kindertranporte memorial this afternoon
The King and Queen Consort were taken to the bronze Kindertransport memorial to mark the 85th anniversary of the first Kindertransport
The Queen Consort was wrapped up for the occasion on the chilly, drizzly day in Germany and carried an umbrella
The Kindertransport memorial features a plaque commemorating the hundreds of children and young people who came to the UK
Roses left by King Charles III and the Queen Consort after their visit to the Kindertransport Memorial to mark the 85th anniversary of the first Kindertransport
Queen Consort Camilla, 74, was pictured at the Kindertransport memorial in Hamburg during her final day of engagements on the state visit to Germany. On her navy coat, she wore a sapphire and diamond brooch given to Queen Victoria by German-born Prince Albert on their wedding day
The Queen Consort, 75, braved the rain in Hamburg this afternoon and looked pensive as she
Camilla held up her clear umbrella with a black rim as she was shown the memorial, and she laid a white rose
Camilla laid a white rose by the bronze memorial to commemorate 85 years since the first kindertransport
Pictured: the white rose the Queen Consort carefully placed on the Kindertransport memorial this afternoon
Reading from the Litany she went on to say: ‘The hatred which divides nations from nation, race from race, class from class. The covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own.’
Floral wreaths from the King, President and Mayor Hamburg Peter Tschentscher were already lying in place and the three men stepped forward to symbolic touch them before taking a step back for a moment of silent contemplation.
The King’s wreath of poppies featured a handwritten card with the poignant message ‘In everlasting remembrance’ with the same words in German below and the signature ‘Charles R’.
The brooch worn by Queen Consort Camilla today was often sported by the late Queen Elizabeth, from whom Camilla inherited the jewel
The diamond and sapphire brooch was given to Queen Victoria on the eve of her wedding to Prince Albert
King Charles and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier walked alongside each other at the train station as the King arrived in Hamburg
The King and Queen Consort arrived in a rainy Hamburg early this afternoon where Camilla, 74, could be seen wearing the sapphire
The Queen Consort looked elegant in a blue Anna Valentine coat emblazoned with the brooch, and a Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet
The King and Queen Consort arrived at Berlin-Hauptbanhof train station this morning and were greeted by rail officials as they prepared to board a train to Hamburg on their final day of their German tour
Their Majesties looked comfortable as they sat on the train which was ready to depart Berlin on the way to Hamburg
The King caught the attention of the camera as he boarded the train at Berlin’s Central Station and prepared to take his seat
King Charles boarded the train to Hamburg following two days of engagements in Berlin on hi royal tour
The King appeared to make a joke as he got ready to board the train to Hamburg ahead of a busy day of engagements
The King and Queen Consort smiled as they greeted senior rail officials on arrival at the main train station in Berlin
King Charles was smart in a crisp dark blue suit and a lilac tie as he arrived at the train station this morning
Adoring crowds could be seen gathered behind barriers opposite the station as the King got out of the car
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the British bombing of Hamburg, Operation Gomorrah .
During the Allied bombing raids on Hamburg in July 1943, the church tower was used as a landmark by bomber pilots.
Today’s visit has been designed to symbolise reconciliation, understanding and today’s firm German-British friendship.
When they arrive at the church, the King and Queen Consort will listen to a boys’ choir, before His Majesty will lay a wreath on the steps of the church and Camilla will lay a flower on each wreath.
Following their visit to the church, the royals will head to Hamburg City Hall and will sign the Golden Book in the Emperor’s Hall.
In an engagement that will no doubt please the King who is passionate about climate conservation, Their Majesties will undertake a boat tour later in the afternoon to an electrolyser site which generates sustainable energy.
Their last engagement of the State Visit will be a reception for more than 1,000 people organised by the British Embassy.
They will listen to a Beatles tribute band in honour of the Fab Four’s links with the German city, as well as meet the country’s Eurovision Song Contest entrants, heavy metal band Lord of the Lost.
The royal couple will then depart Germany and return to the UK.
The trip to Hamburg marks the third day of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla’s first official foreign trip since the King ascended the throne.
It comes a week later than expected after the King’s visit to France last week was postponed due to civil unrest in Paris in response to President Macron’s pension reforms.
Upon arrival in Berlin on Wednesday, Their Majesties took part in a walkabout at the Brandenburg Gate, where the King had a hilarious encounter with an adoring fan.
A man wearing a cardboard crown from fast food chain Burger King affectionately offered the disposable headpiece to the monarch, telling him: ‘This is for you, if you want it.’
Charles smiled broadly and said: ‘I’m alright!’ He, of course, has a number of real ones at home. He also grinned and declined another crown from a woman who said: ‘I have a present for you’.
Security was tight at the train station as armed police could be seen on the lookout as the King arrived
A police officer, armed and wearing protective gear, looked out with a pair of binoculars in a sign of a heavy police presence
Adoring royal fans waited in the rain to catch a glimpse of the King and carried flowers and a Union Jack flag with his portrait on
The King was also seen bending down to pick up a man’s cap before returning it back to him, with the grateful well-wisher thanking him and bowing.
Charles and Camilla – who posed for selfies with fans – were formally greeted at the Brandenburg Gate by Germany’s president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and wife Elke Budenbender before the national anthems were played.
In a sign of the importance placed on the visit, the couple were given the first full ceremonial and military welcome at the landmark since the Second World War. Even Queen Elizabeth II, who also visited Berlin for her last ever State Visit abroad in 2015, wasn’t afforded that honour.
While at the Brandenburg Gate, the King expressed his sadness at the postponement of his Paris trip.
That evening, Their Majesties attended a glitzy state banquet held in their honour at Schloss Bellevue, where the King spoke about the shared values held by the UK and Germany and the close ties between the nations.
Camilla, 75, was the belle of the ball in a striking black evening dress with silver embroidery by Bruce Oldfield and sported the honeycomb Boucheron diamond tiara, a favourite of the late Queen Mother that was also worn by Queen Elizabeth.
They dined on marinated carp and watercress, chicken and mushroom with a blackberry malt reduction and a prune and black tea desert, washed down by three different wines or non-alcoholic cocktails.
During an address to the guests, the King said: ‘Remarkably, I realise I have visited Germany more than forty times – a measure of the importance of this relationship, of course, but also, I fear, of just how long I have been around!
‘I also think fondly of the time my wife and I sampled Bavarian sausages at a farmers’ market in Munich, and found ourselves drinking beer and waltzing around at the Hofbräuhaus! I can understand why St Boniface, an English monk, who is famous for having preached in Germany, is also a patron saint of brewers!’
He continued: ‘Over all these years, and in so many ways, I have been struck by the warmth of the friendship between our nations and by the vitality of our partnership in countless areas.
‘It was, Mr President, a friendship which mattered greatly to my mother, The late Queen, who cared deeply about the bond between our two countries.