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As it happened: Final day of Queen's state visit

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Published: 26 Jun, 2015 CET. Updated: Fri 26 Jun 2015 14:30 CET
As it happened: Final day of Queen's state visit
Queen Elizabeth II boards the plane back to the UK after a visit to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp memorialPhoto: DPA

The Queen still has a couple of vital stops on her state visit to Germany before she flies back to the UK this afternoon. This morning she's in Berlin followed by Bergen Belsen in the afternoon. Follow all the action here!

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That's it for the liveblog everyone! We hope you've enjoyed our regular updates about the royal goings-on over the last few days. Relive the magic of the Queen's arrival, her first day in Berlin, and Thursday's  visit to Frankfurt - or find out what we think was really behind the visit.

13.55 - The final sendoff at Celle airport is from a group of local schoolchildren:

13.51 - And here's a warm goodbye tweet from the Queen's official account:

13.45 - Germany's Ambassador to the UK, Peter Ammon, bids a fond farewell to the Queen as she departs the country:

13.17 - Here's a nice word for Prince Phil. The Tagespiegel comments on how interested he was in the people he spoke to and how often he became deeply involved in conversation. Apparently this has also been the case at Bergen Belsen.

13.23 - The Queen and DofE are now meeting survivors and liberators of camp.

13.17 - The royals have now paid their respects at the grave of Ann Frank, who died weeks before the camp was liberated at the age of 15.

13.11 - Here are some more pictures of the Queen and DofE laying a wreath at the memorial and paying their respects.

13.01 - She is being joined by the UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis who told ITV the visit was "terribly significant" to Jewish communities across the world.  

12.55 - Her Majesty has placed a wreath at the monument to the 70,000 inmates, including Ann Frank and her sister Margot, who died here during the Second World War.

12.49 - This is a particularly meaningful occasion, as it is the Queen's first visit to Bergen-Belsen, which was the first concentration camp liberated by British forces in 1945. 

12.46 - They've arrived at the concentration camp.

12.40 - Either one editor has fallen a bit too in love with the Queen or that word doesn't have so many meanings in German.

12.22 - And the Queen has touched down at Celle airstrip. And the Duke of Edinburgh. He should be there too.

10.58 - Mission accomplished for the Berlin police as they deliver the Queen safely to Tegel airport:

10.51 - Yet further back in time, this time with a picture of a very young Elizabeth II meeting West Germany's first post-war Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in 1958.

10.38 - A quick blast from the past from the Queen's official Twitter account as she makes her way to the Bergen Belsen concentration camp memorial:

10.29 - Berlin police are rounding off a busy three days by escorting the Queen to Tegel airport:

10.24 - "I only got a glimpse of some yellow and it was hard to take pictures," Berliner Oliver Nolte tells Emma Anderson. "But it was nevertheless exciting. She may never come back. At least I can say I was there."

 

10.12 - And after all the hours of waiting, that's that for the hardy souls who made it to see the Queen:

10.08 - The Queen brought her walkabout to a swift end and just had time for a "historic" photo opportunity driving through the Brandenburg Gate in her Bentley:

10.02 - TV commentators are sagely pointing out that the Queen will likely change her bright-coloured outfit before she travels to Bergen Belsen later today:

 

 

09.59 - A quick historial note: in 1963 on this day, JFK was in Berlin to give his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech (no, he didn't say I am a donut):

09.55 - TV commentators are babbling about nothing and the bagpipe player is still warming up. It's going to be a long 10 minutes until the queen appears.

09.41 - We're not sure why the Queen's car is already there. She might get tired from walking all the way around the square and craning her neck to look up at the Brandenburg Gate.

09.36 - Here's a quick video to give you a sense of all the exciting waiting going on outside the Hotel Adlon:

09.34 - "I find her very cool and I have the utmost respect for her. And I have to admit, I'm a big fan of the royal family," Sylvia Marteluca all the way from Nuremberg tells Emma Anderson.

09.26 - "I don't know why I came, I just thought why not, it might be the last chance to see her. It was spontaneous really," Anna Wetscher, a Ukrainian sociology grad student at Berlin's Free University, tells Emma Anderson.

09.24 - It's going to be a crush for anyone wanting to get to the front of the crowd for a chance at a smile or a quick word with Her Maj'.

09.17 - There's even a few misplaced Brits hanging around Pariser Platz flying the flag:

09.10 - It's been a long day already for some of these royal-watchers:

09.08 - Some people are getting ideas above their station:

09.06 - "We are England fans, but mostly of the Queen and Prince Philip. We got up at 6 in the morning to come here and have been waiting since 8.15," Silvia Werner from Brandenburg tells Emma Anderson.

"The Queen represents stability. She holds her land together."

08.53 - Pariser Platz is already filling up with over an hour until the Queen arrives:

08.46 - It wouldn't be the Queen without lots of burly chaps in uniform keeping her safe:

08.44 - Emma Anderson's first tweet is in! Boy, is she hard working. puts the rest of us to shame

Queen Liz might be nursing a bit of a hangover this morning after one too many gins at the Garden Party at the British Residency last night, but she'll have to shake it of for a 9.45 start this morning. That's when she's scheduled to leave the Adlon Hotel for a brief walk around Pariser Platz, although she's made a bit of a habit of being late this visit - and it hasn't gone unnoticed.

Our reporter Emma Anderson is already heading down to the square to get her first glimpse of her royal highness. She's a massive royalist so the excitement could be a bit much for her - but I'm sure she'll cope admirably.

Later the Queen is off to Bergen Belsen concentration camp to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. As somebody who lived through the horrors of the Second World War, one would imagine this will be quite an emotional moment for her. That will be the last stop on what has been an action packed three days for the Queen in which the warmth of her personality almost certainly won over many a German fence sitter. She's still got it at 89 and you can't give her more of a tribute than that.

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