The Queen Tuesday used the occasion of a state visit to Germany to say that she recognized the "appalling suffering of war on both sides."
Speaking at a banquet hosted by President Horst Kohler, the Queen shrugged off demands by the mass-circulation tabloid Bild that she say sorry for the destruction of Dresden by allied bombers.
Instead she spoke of the need for "reconciliation" between Britain and Germany.
"In remembering the appalling suffering of war on both sides, we recognize how precious is the peace we have built in Europe since 1945," she said.
"It is difficult for someone of my generation to over-emphasize this," she added, urging both countries to look beyond "simplistic stereotypes."
Before her arrival in Berlin Tuesday for a three-day visit, there was speculation in some sections of the media here that she might apologize. Specifically, Bild last week demanded that she say sorry for the "massacre" of civilians in Dresden and other cities.
The center-left government did not give the demand its support.
Among the sometimes embarrassingly modest crowds that turned up to meet her Tuesday, the war did not appear to be a theme -- at least not the one against Germany.
"She's more sympathetic than Tony Blair," said Frank Stephan, a 26-year-old history student at Berlin's Humboldt University.
"No one likes Blair here because of the war in Iraq. We find his solidarity with the Bush administration hard to understand," he said.
Yesterday, the Queen was to open a conference on climate change, amid speculation that she has complained to Tony Blair about the role of the US in global warming.
Meanwhile, Bild on Tuesday printed its own poster to accompany the visit with the headline "Welcome Your Majesty."
It urged readers to put it in their windows.
Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of teenage diarist Anne Frank and a tireless educator about the horrors of the Holocaust, has died. She was 96. The Anne Frank Trust UK, of which Schloss was honorary president, said she died on Saturday in London, where she lived. Britain’s King Charles III said he was “privileged and proud” to have known Schloss, who cofounded the charitable trust to help young people challenge prejudice. “The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding
Tens of thousands of Filipino Catholics yesterday twirled white cloths and chanted “Viva, viva,” as a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ was paraded through the streets of Manila in the nation’s biggest annual religious event. The day-long procession began before dawn, with barefoot volunteers pulling the heavy carriage through narrow streets where the devout waited in hopes of touching the icon, believed to hold miraculous powers. Thousands of police were deployed to manage crowds that officials believe could number in the millions by the time the statue reaches its home in central Manila’s Quiapo church around midnight. More than 800 people had sought
‘DISRESPECTFUL’: Katie Miller, the wife of Trump’s most influential adviser, drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colors of the US flag, captioning it ‘SOON’ US President Donald Trump on Sunday doubled down on his claim that Greenland should become part of the US, despite calls by the Danish prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory. Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the arctic. While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “We’ll worry about Greenland in
PERILOUS JOURNEY: Over just a matter of days last month, about 1,600 Afghans who were at risk of perishing due to the cold weather were rescued in the mountains Habibullah set off from his home in western Afghanistan determined to find work in Iran, only for the 15-year-old to freeze to death while walking across the mountainous frontier. “He was forced to go, to bring food for the family,” his mother, Mah Jan, said at her mud home in Ghunjan village. “We have no food to eat, we have no clothes to wear. The house in which I live has no electricity, no water. I have no proper window, nothing to burn for heating,” she added, clutching a photograph of her son. Habibullah was one of at least 18 migrants who died
RSS