Mr President,

　　Prince Philip and I would like to thank you and Frau Schadt forthe warm welcome you have given us at the start of our fifthState Visit to Germany. In the 50 years since our first visit, ourcountries have lived through many profound changes. I amvery glad to record that one of the irreversible changes for thebetter in my lifetime has been in the relationship between the United Kingdom and Germany.

　　Mr President, it falls to a Head of State to lead a nation in the marking of anniversaries. Everymonth this year we commemorate either the centenary of a momentous event in the First WorldWar; the 70th anniversary of a milestone at the end of the Second World War; or, here inGermany, 25 years of reunification following the fall of the wall which divided this city and thisnation for so long.

　　But, tonight, I would also like to cast back rather further in time. Last week in a water-meadow bythe River Thames, I attended an event to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. Ofcourse, in common with other events in our remote history, the precise facts of 1215 aredisputed. The consequences of the agreement between King John and his barons, however, arenot disputed: for the first time we established in England that no man should be above the law andthat individuals as well as rulers have rights. Thus began the long, slow and interrupted process ofour country's evolution into a democracy.

　　Tomorrow I shall visit St Paul’s Church, where the first freely-elected legislature in Germany met in1848. The Frankfurt Parliament turned out to be a false dawn; it took another century and the lossof the most terrible wars in history to set Germany on the path of democracy.

　　Earlier this year my cousins visited Germany to mark with you, Mr President, more recent andpainful anniversaries. The Duke of Kent visited Dresden and The Duke of Gloucester visited Bergen-Belsen. I myself shall visit Bergen-Belsen on Friday. These visits underline the complete reconciliationbetween our countries.

　　Germany has reconciled with all her neighbours. I pay tribute to the work of the German statesmensince the Second World War who reinvented Germany and helped to rebuild Europe. I metChancellor Adenauer at Windsor in 1958. He rejected the idea of a neutral Germany, preferring toanchor Germany in the West. His successors took up the challenge of uniting Germany as amember of all the institutions of Europe and the West.

　　Since 1945 the United Kingdom has determined to number among Germany's very strongestfriends in Europe. In the intervening decades, Britain and Germany have achieved so much byworking together. I have every confidence that we will continue to do so in the years ahead.

　　Since Berlin and Germany were reunited there has been much to celebrate. Today I cruised withyou, Mr President, along the Spree. I saw fewer cranes than when I was last here in 2004. But stillthe most magnificent element of Berlin’s skyline is the Reichstag dome, an enduring reminder ofour cultural cooperation. Our work together includes every part of life, from politics to commerce,from industry to every aspect of the arts, in particular, music, museums and education.

　　We also saw a wonderful example of partnership in education and science during our visit to theTechnical University this afternoon. The enthusiasm and interest our students and young peoplehave for each other’s ideas and work is our greatest asset: the next generation is at ease with itselfand with contemporaries across Europe in a way that was never the case before.

　　The United Kingdom has always been closely involved in its continent. Even when our main focuswas elsewhere in the world, our people played a key part in Europe. In the nineteenth century inthe Russian Empire a Welsh engineer called John Hughes founded a mining town which is nowDonetsk in Ukraine. And in the seventeenth century a Scottish publican called Richard Cant movedhis family to Pomerania; his son moved further East to Memel and his grandson then moved Southto Königsberg, where Richard’s great-grandson, Immanuel Kant, was born.

　　In our lives, Mr President, we have seen the worst but also the best of our continent. We havewitnessed how quickly things can change for the better. But we know that we must work hard tomaintain the benefits of the post-war world. We know that division in Europe is dangerous and thatwe must guard against it in the West as well as in the East of our continent. That remains acommon endeavour.

　　Ladies and Gentlemen, I ask you to rise and drink a toast to the President and the people ofGermany.

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