The President and First Lady of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Elke Büdenbender, officially welcomed King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain today at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin with Military Honours. Felipe and Letizia are paying their first-ever State visit to the country at the invitation of the German President.
Military Honours in front of Bellevue Palace. #QueenLetizia pic.twitter.com/1Z74fsSKed
— ChristinZ (@ChristinsQueens) October 17, 2022
Upon arrival at the Bellevue Palace in Madrid, King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain were received by the President and First Lady of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Elke Büdenbender. This was not the first time both couples were meeting.
If you remember Mr Steinmeier and his wife visited Spain in 2018 and King Felipe and Queen Letizia hosted a lunch for the couple at the Royal Palace of Zarzuela at that time. You can find more about that day here.
The Royal couple departed yesterday from Madrid after a ceremonial send-off and met with the Spanish community in Germany last night at the residence of the Spanish Ambassador to Germany that will be their base throughout the tour.
#QueenLetizia pic.twitter.com/nOdczz5FJL
— ChristinZ (@ChristinsQueens) October 17, 2022
A lovely royal friend Christin Zi covered the welcome ceremony from the grounds. She shared beautiful pictures and videos from the coverage and talked to media members covering the tour.
I talked to a lovely Spanish woman from the press about how the media sees #QueenLetizia. She said she enjoys working with her/following her work, which HM deeply cares about. But she hopes that the (worlds) media would concentrate more on her causes than her fashion. pic.twitter.com/fSmXCTpFlT
— ChristinZ (@ChristinsQueens) October 17, 2022
The welcome ceremony began with a performance by a military band. Then King Felipe and President Steinmeier reviewed the troops. Next both countries’ national anthems were performed. Felipe and Letizia did a small walkabout and met with schoolchildren gathered outside the President’s house.
El Rey Felipe VI estampa su firma en las banderas de los niños que les han recibido en el Palacio Bellevue “ es increíble” pic.twitter.com/eLE0tYB1bd
— Susana Campo (@xuxana) October 17, 2022
Both King Felipe and Queen Letizia signed the Spanish flags for the schoolchildren.
Inside the Palace, King Felipe and Queen Letizia stood for an official photograph with the President and First Lady before signing the guest book.
Then Spanish King and the President will be participating in a bilateral meeting with the delegations of both countries while Queen Letizia sat down with the First Lady to discuss the common causes both ladies support.
Then after a press conference, The Royal couple bid left for the second destination of the day – the War Memorial.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia paid a floral tribute to the fallen heroes at the Neue Wache (New Guard) building in Berlin at the memorial for the victims of war and dictatorship. The historic building was built between 1816 to 1818 according to plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel as a guardhouse for the Royal Palace and a memorial to the Liberation Wars as per the instructions of King Frederick William III of Prussia.
The building served as a royal guard house until the end of World War I and the fall of the monarchy in the German Revolution of 1918–19. In 1931 the architect Heinrich Tessenow was commissioned by the Free State of Prussia to redesign the building as a war memorial to commemorate those who died in the Great War. Tessenow converted the interior into a memorial hall centred around a black granite block with an oak wreath designed by the sculptor Ludwig Gies, situated under an oculus (circular skylight).
The building was heavily damaged during world war II. In 1957 the East German authorities had the Neue Wache rebuilt and reopened in 1960 as a Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism. Since 1993, the Neue Wache has been home to the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Victims of War and Tyranny.
In the evening, The President and First Lady will be hosting a state banquet in honour of The Spanish King and Queen.
Departure from Bellevue Palace. #QueenLetizia pic.twitter.com/vZSsPLIVgu
— ChristinZ (@ChristinsQueens) October 17, 2022
The wool crepe dress features a round high neckline with a keyhole at the front, a wrapped waistline and a mid-length godet skirt. The very distinguished element of the dress was the crystal work on the shoulders. As you can see Letizia had the waistline altered and removed the belt that the original design had on it.
A closer look at the crystal flower design on the dress’s shoulders.
Queen Letizia teamed up the outfit with her Bulgari Aqua hoops
Letizia was wearing blue suede Magrit pumps and
a matching handbag from the same Spanish label.
Her Karen Hallam ring was not missing either.
A look at Letizia’s Outfits so far on the visit.
She looked lovely. I liked that it was an old dress that turns out to be a new piece from her wardrobe. Funny right but gorgeous