When Queen Elizabeth enchanted Munich: the police played the unannounced Bavarian anthem

Created: 09/10/2022, 08:46

By: Carina Zimniok, Dirk Walter

Queen Elizabeth on May 21, 1965 upon her arrival at Munich Central Station.

© Heinz Gebhardt/Imago

Queen Elizabeth II visited Germany five times, coming to Bavaria for the first time in 1965.

At that time, all of Munich was in love with the monarchy - and an incredibly persistent 39-year-old lady.

Munich – May 1965, it was a different world back then.

Vietnam War, Cold War.

The “Opel Rekord” came onto the market as a novelty in those days.

Chancellor Ludwig Erhard (CDU) rules in Germany, Prime Minister Alfons Goppel (CSU) in Bavaria and Hans-Jochen Vogel (SPD), then 39 years old, in Munich.

Vogel, a staunch democrat, as he says himself, bowed to an elegant lady of the same age: the British Queen.

"Of course they said Majesty," Vogel later recalled.

"In such a case, this form of address was simply appropriate."

Germany pays homage to a queen who passed away on Thursday evening.

From May 18, 1965, Queen Elizabeth II tours the Republic for eleven days.

The Queen travels in a special train, on May 21 she comes to Munich for a day.

The fact that Passau is experiencing record flooding is a side note in the newspaper.

The Queen visits Germany and leaves nothing out.

Romantic trip on the Rhine, visit to the steelworks in Duisburg, the Wall in Berlin.

20 years after the end of the Second World War, the Queen's visit is also a symbol: Germany is again included among the sovereign states.

Queen Elizabeth II as a guest in Munich: Bavarian anthem at the main station

The

sends a special reporter: for eleven days there are Queen reports on page 3. He misses nothing - when visiting relatives Prince Ludwig of Hesse and near the Rhine, seagull eggs and roasted pigeons are served, he notes indignantly.

Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrive in Munich at 10 a.m.

Platform 11, Prime Minister Goppel presents a bouquet of tea roses, the people of Munich wave English flags, the police stand guard – and immediately allow themselves a small faux pas.

In addition to the English and German national anthems, the Bavarian anthem will also be played.

Contrary to protocol – Federal President Heinrich Lübke is said to have been “not amused”.

Queen Elizabeth in Munich: the schedule suddenly slips

Hundreds of thousands of Munich residents line the roadside on that sunny May day.

They jostle, stand on tiptoe to see Elizabeth II waving next to Goppel from the open Mercedes stretch limousine.

The Queen completed a tightly packed program: Residence, Alte Pinakothek, Cuvilliés Theater, Porzellanmanufaktur.

In the garden of Nymphenburg Palace, the Olympic team on horseback shows a dressage program.

Then it's off to an Earl Grey, specially imported from the island, to the Wittelsbach Duke Albrecht of Bavaria and his wife Maria.

At some point the schedule will slip.

Goppel's state chancellery reports to Mayor Vogel.

Whether he couldn't come to the State Chancellery with the Golden Book, in which the Queen should register.

"Never ever," replies Vogel.

The meeting at City Hall will take place as planned.

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Queen Elizabeth II enchants Munich - with "decollete evening dress without sleeves made of white organza"

The highlight in the evening is a visit to the opera.

Elizabeth appears "in a low-cut, sleeveless gown of white organza over bright azalea pink with a fitted bodice and slightly ruffled skirt."

There is the "Rosenkavalier".

The singers - including Erika Köth - pay homage to the Queen.

The special train does not leave again until midnight, towards Salem Castle.

The Queen completed the sightseeing tour of Germany with ease.

"She carried out her duties with an indefatigability worthy of admiration," says a commentator in

.

Only on May 28 does the Queen leave the port of Hamburg on her yacht "Britannia".

By telegram she thanks Bavaria and Goppel for "the kindness of your citizens".

Signed: Elizabeth.