Queen Visits Site of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp

THE GUARDIAN: Chief rabbi says monarch’s first visit to site of a former concentration camp, in Germany, is ‘tremendously significant’


The Queen is visiting the site of the Bergen-Belsen prisoner of war and concentration camps on Friday, the final day of her state visit to Germany.

The chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, who will join the Queen for part of her tour of the site, said the trip would be seen by Jewish communities around the globe as “tremendously significant”.

The camps were liberated by British troops 70 years ago, and the site is now a memorial to those who died at the hands of the Nazis.

It will be the Queen’s first trip to a former concentration camp and a personal reflective visit for the monarch, with a minimum of ceremony. » | Press Association | Friday, June 26, 2015

Queen and Philip Lunch with German Branch of Family Once Tainted by Nazi Past

DAILY EXPRESS: THE Queen and Prince Philip had a family reunion in Germany today with the descendants of relatives once banned from their wedding because of Nazi connections.

They met different branches of Philip’s side of the family at a lunch in Frankfurt and again at a reception at the British Embassy in Berlin tonight.

There was a time when such a meeting would have had to be far more discreet – all but one of Philip’s German relatives, his mother Princess Alice, were excluded from the couple’s 1947 wedding because of sensitivities over his sister’s Nazi connections.

Three of his four sisters joined Hitler’s party and married princes who were prominent Nazis, although other relatives were persecuted after being accused of opposing the party.

But there was no sense of any awkwardness today, as the 89-year-old monarch and her husband, 94, chatted to guests in Frankfurt’s city hall, Philip using his fluent German.

There were three groups of Philip’s relatives seated at tables: the Battenbergs, the von Badens and the Hesses. » | Richard Palmer, Royal Correspondent | Thursday, June 25, 2015

Queen Wades into Europe Debate as She Says Division Is 'Dangerous'

The Queen in Berlin on Wednesday

THE TELEGRAPH: Her Majesty emphasises Britain’s 'key part' in shaping of continent in Berlin speech that left little doubt of which way she would vote in referendum

The Queen has said that division in Europe is "dangerous" in what will be seen as a plea to the British people to vote yes to staying in Europe.

In a speech in front of David Cameron and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday night, Her Majesty emphasised Britain’s “key part” in the shaping of the continent.

She also lauded Britain’s “irreversible” friendship with Germany, the EU’s most powerful member state, as she spoke at a State banquet in Berlin.

Her comments were all the more powerful as they were made ahead of a speech by the German President, Joachim Gauck, who urged Mr Cameron to do everything he can to secure a “yes” vote in the in-out EU referendum, saying that “the European Union needs Britain”. » | Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter, in Berlin and Steven Swinford | Wednesday, June 24, 2015