On Wednesday evening, Federal President Steinmeier hosted a dinner with King Charles III. But one important person is missing.
Perhaps the most requested dinner invitation of the year: On Wednesday evening, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier invited a celebrity group to a dinner of honor with King Charles III. and his wife, Camilla, to Bellevue Palace. Among those present with pickled carp, pasture chicken with mushrooms and liqueur from Ahr (as revealed by “Bild”) are Tote-Hosen Campino singer, Biontech chief Ozlem Torresy, FDP chairman, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Green).
Olaf Schultz will not participate. “The Federal Chancellor never attends such banquets with foreign heads of state,” his spokesman, Stephen Heppistreet, said when asked by T-Online.
Of course, this is not a generally applicable rule for German heads of government. When Queen Elizabeth II visited Germany in June 2015, then-Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) sat at the table at the gala dinner at the Federal President’s Residence, as did her husband, Joachim Sauer.
Host at the time: then Federal President Joachim Gauck. He will also be attending dinner tonight with his partner, Daniela Schade, as well as Angela Merkel.
Meanwhile, Olaf Scholz will also spend time with Charles: he will meet the King for a one-on-one conversation.
The interesting question is what gift Steinmeier makes to the king. Because Gauck wasn’t so lucky with the queen. Her adoration in 2015, with a picture by German artist Nicole Leidenfrost, shows young Elizabeth on the back of a horse painted blue with her father, King George VI. It is said that the queen’s reaction is a little terrified. The British press later issued a scathing verdict. The Daily Telegraph asked: “Is it a bad painting or just a bad drawing?” The Guardian described the delivery of the gift as “inappropriate”. This is how the British describe the most uncomfortable moment.
