King Charles to commemorate victims of Allied bombings in Hamburg

Berlin: Britain´s King Charles III will commemorate German victims of World War II Allied air raids on Friday, a gesture carrying great significance for both countries.

On the third and final day of his first state visit since ascending the throne, the monarch, accompanied by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, will visit the St Nikolai memorial in Hamburg, where he will lay a wreath.

The move in the ruins of a church will be unparalleled for a British sovereign.

During her visit to Dresden in 1992, eggs were flung at Charles´ late mother Queen Elizabeth II after she failed to get out of her car to lay a wreath at the rubble of the Frauenkirche -- a symbol of wartime destruction.

Germany´s biggest-selling daily Bild said Friday´s action by Charles "will be a silent gesture, a brief bow, a silent prayer. But that will say more than any speech".

The issue of German suffering in World War II is historically and politically explosive. (AFP)