The King recalled happy times sampling Bavarian sausages and waltzing in beer houses as he returned to Germany for the first time as monarch.
Charles kicked off his inaugural state visit sharing jokes with locals and delighting his hosts with a rip roaring speech where said his 40 trips to our near neighbours showed “just how long I have been around!”
The King and Queen Consort, who wowed in a glittering diamond tiara for a state banquet in the royals’ honour, touched down in Berlin shortly after 2pm, to a warm welcome following a hastily rearranged schedule when the royals’ trip to France was cancelled over safety fears.
Charles and Camilla were greeted by a 21-gun salute and a fly-past by two fighter jets after they emerged from the RAF Voyager.
As a mark of respect two Typhoon jets escorted the plane carrying the King and Queen Consort and their entourage as it approached Berlin-Brandenburg Government Airport.
In his address as guest of honour at Berlin’s presidential palace, Charles said: “I think, Mr President, of the particular kindness and friendship which you and Frau Büdenbender showed to both my wife and myself on our last visits to Berlin in 2019 and 2020.
“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!”
As fate would have it, the King’s rearranged trip resulted in his first state visit mirroring the late Queen’s last, with a visit to the German capital in 2015.
Charles added how the bond between the UK and Germany was “a friendship which mattered greatly to my mother".
Thanking his hosts for their condolences following her death last September aged 96, he said: “The late Queen cared deeply about the bond between our two countries.
“I did want to thank you all, once again, for the profoundly touching messages of support and affection we received from so many people in Germany following the sadness of her death last year.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, your kindness meant more to my family and myself than I can possibly express.”
During their three days in the country, Charles and Camilla will visit political leaders, sustainability projects and refugee centres.
Charles last night heaped praise on the country for welcoming more than one million Ukrainian refugees in the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion.
Reiterating Britain’s desire to “stand side-by-side in protecting and advancing our shared democratic values”, Charles added: “This is epitomised so clearly today as we stand together with Ukraine in defence of freedom and sovereignty in the face of unprovoked aggression.
“In this regard, I did want to pay a particular tribute to Germany’s extraordinary hospitality in hosting over one million Ukrainian refugees.
“This, it seems to me, so powerfully demonstrates the generosity of spirit of the German people.
The trip has been overshadowed by the postponement of the French leg of the European tour, which was shelved by President Emmanuel Macron last Friday after violent nationwide protests against the French leader's retirement age reforms.
The decision was made amid reports the King, who did convey his sadness over the cancellation to a French reporter yesterday, may have been targeted during further demonstrations planned by protestors to coincide with the visit.
But the royals showed there was no hangover when they joked with locals who came out to see them for the first day.
Charles cackled with laughter as a German man gestured towards him with a paper crown, saying: “It’s for you!”, before Charles smiled saying said “I'm alright!”
British schoolgirl Hadley Drake, eight, also drew laughs from the crowds gathered to see the royal couple as she got away with telling the king firmly to “wait” while she took a picture of him on her brightly-coloured toy camera.
The youngster, who was being carried by her father at the front of the crowd, told the monarch that she wanted to get a better shot of him - and scooped the waiting press photographers by being rewarded with her own brief personal photocall.
“Wait!” she declared. “Hey you look…..” but the king never got to hear how her picture had come out.
Ahead of their trip, the royals said in a joint statement how they were “very much looking forward to meeting all of those who make this country so special”, adding: "It is a great joy to be able to continue the deepening of the longstanding friendship between our two nations."
Germany's president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and wife Elke Budenbender formally welcomed the King and Queen Consort, at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, the national symbol of peace and unity.
Following the countries’ national anthems the King inspected a guard of honour, accompanied by the president, before Charles, Camilla, the German statesman and his wife went on a brief walkabout meeting people who had queued for hours to meet the couple.
It was certainly a more serene atmosphere compared to exuberant crowds who come out to see the younger royals, but Charles cracked a couple of jokes as he met as many as possible of the 1,500 well-wishers, including pupils from local schools, members of the Royal British Legion.
Some of the crowds were carrying home-made welcome banners or flowers for the royals, while several ladies were wearing garden party-style hats.
The King shook outstretched hands and when he met a student who said he had recently been to London, Charles said: "Oh marvellous. You found your way around? Oh, you went to Buckingham Palace!"
Later in the day President Steinmeier praised environmentalist Charles as an early champion of “healthy nutrition, sustainability and climate action very early on”, adding: “We are all benefiting today from Your Majesty’s convictions.”
On Thursday Charles is set to become the first member of the royal family to address the German parliament at the Bundestag, while the Queen Consort will focus on a local refugee centre in Berlin.
