Queen to visit former concentration camp during state visit to Germany

LONDON – The Queen will visit a former concentration camp for the first time during her state visit to Germany later this month, Buckingham Palace said Monday.

The Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, will travel to the Bergen-Belsen camp where diarist Anne Frank and her sister, Margot, died only weeks before the British liberated it on April 15, 1945. The royals plan to see a memorial dedicated to the sisters, and meet with survivors and liberators of the camp, the palace said.

It’s a sombre note on a visit that will underscore the current mutual respect between the two countries. A state dinner, garden parties and a trip down the River Spree are included as are meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Joachim Gauck.

The Queen will travel to both the German capital, Berlin, and the financial hub, Frankfurt, during the June 23-26 trip. Built into the program are brief appearances at Berlin’s Pariser Platz and the central public square in Frankfurt — giving royal watchers a chance to see the monarch and Prince Philip.

The state visit will be the fifth of Elizabeth’s long reign. The Queen and Prince Philip have made state visits to Germany in May 1965, May 1978, October 1992 and November 2004.

The monarch also paid an official visit to Berlin in July 2000 to open the new British Embassy and again in 1987 to mark the 750th anniversary of the city.