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| Queen and Prince Philip begin state visit to Germany | Queen and Prince Philip begin state visit to Germany |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have arrived in Germany for a four-day state visit. | The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have arrived in Germany for a four-day state visit. |
| The German air force escorted the Queen's plane to Berlin Tegel airport, and a 21-gun salute was fired. | The German air force escorted the Queen's plane to Berlin Tegel airport, and a 21-gun salute was fired. |
| During the royals' visit, they will attend a state banquet, travel to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and hold a private meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. | During the royals' visit, they will attend a state banquet, travel to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and hold a private meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. |
| This will be the Queen's seventh time in Germany. | This will be the Queen's seventh time in Germany. |
| She and Prince Philip are responding to an invitation from German President Joachim Gauck. | She and Prince Philip are responding to an invitation from German President Joachim Gauck. |
| They will be received by President Gauck at his official residence, Bellevue Palace, on Wednesday. | They will be received by President Gauck at his official residence, Bellevue Palace, on Wednesday. |
| The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will spend time in Berlin and Frankfurt before travelling to the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, which was liberated by the British 70 years ago. | The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will spend time in Berlin and Frankfurt before travelling to the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, which was liberated by the British 70 years ago. |
| There they will meet groups of survivors and liberators, and representatives of Jewish and Christian communities. | There they will meet groups of survivors and liberators, and representatives of Jewish and Christian communities. |
| The Queen's first visit to Germany was in 1965 and the last in 2004. In 2000 she opened the new British embassy in Berlin. | The Queen's first visit to Germany was in 1965 and the last in 2004. In 2000 she opened the new British embassy in Berlin. |
| She has been on four previous state visits and two official visits. | She has been on four previous state visits and two official visits. |
| Mr Gauck, a human-rights campaigner and former East German dissident, became president in March 2012. | Mr Gauck, a human-rights campaigner and former East German dissident, became president in March 2012. |
| Analysis by Peter Hunt, BBC royal correspondent | Analysis by Peter Hunt, BBC royal correspondent |
| The fighter jets from the German Luftwaffe, which escorted the Queen's plane as it came into land, honoured a visiting dignitary and the representative of a family with ties to the country. | |
| Prince Philip's four sisters married German princes and during World War One, the House of Saxe Coburg Gotha was renamed the House of Windsor. | Prince Philip's four sisters married German princes and during World War One, the House of Saxe Coburg Gotha was renamed the House of Windsor. |
| This is the 270th time the Queen, as head of state, has been on foreign soil. | |
| She has described such state visits as an "old-fashioned way of travelling" which still have a point. | She has described such state visits as an "old-fashioned way of travelling" which still have a point. |
| With her husband, she'll go to see what remains of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp which was liberated by the British 70 years ago. | With her husband, she'll go to see what remains of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp which was liberated by the British 70 years ago. |
| One of the survivors has spoken of how it was only a liberation in the physical sense because his soul was burnt out and he could feel no joy. | One of the survivors has spoken of how it was only a liberation in the physical sense because his soul was burnt out and he could feel no joy. |
| Read more from Peter Hunt | Read more from Peter Hunt |