The Duke and Duchess travelled from Berlin to Hamburg via train this morning.
They were warmly welcomed at Dammtor Railway Station.
Hamburg is Germany’s second largest city, and home to its largest harbour. It is known for its strong links to the UK, which go back to the Hanseatic League in the 13th century.
The first stop for the Duke and Duchess was the Maritime Museum on the bank of the river Elbe. The visit was planned to "celebrate" the joint UK-German year of science, which this year is focused on oceans.
The couple briefly met members of the crowd.
The couple briefly met members of the crowd.
Welcome to #Hamburg! #Kate und #William kommen am Bahnhof Dammtor an. #RoyalVisitGermany #RoyalsInHH @KensingtonRoyal pic.twitter.com/CWv2H1vndN— Stefan Schneider (@Schneider_BILD) July 21, 2017
The museum houses a huge collection of model ships, construction plans, uniforms, and maritime art, amounting to over 40,000 items and more than one million photographs.
It opened in a former warehouse in 2008. The private collection was started in 1934 by Peter Tamm - former chairman of the board of Axel Springer AG. Tamm said his interest was sparked when his mother presented him with his first model ship when he was six years old.
The building is the oldest preserved warehouse in Hamburg, built between 1878 and 1879 by the architects Bernhard Georg Jacob Hanssen and Wilhelm Emil Meerwein. It was built with a supporting structure of wood and steel columns, the outer walls of bricks also supporting the building. It was designed in neo-Gothic style.
More from the Museum's website:
'Three thousand years worth of maritime history are displayed on nine ‘decks’ with precious exhibits, model ships and paintings. There is an entire deck dedicated to marine research.
At the beginning there was the ocean. Humans stood at the shore, ready to sail unto new horizons. From there the journey through three thousand years of seafaring history begins. Historical documents and sea charts reveal how the modern world-view has developed. Particularly valuable: a copy of the "Atlantis Majoris" from 1657, the first nautical atlas printed in the Netherlands.
Hand painted crown compasses and shining, golden sextants lead into an era in which a keen eye and steady hand were required to determine the course. A signal station with Teletype machinery and signal codes demonstrates how seafarers communicated up until the twentieth century. Selected models show various strands of development in shipping: from Phoenician galley and Roman trireme to Viking dragon boats, from cog ships of the Hanseatic period and the explorer’s caravels to the last of the windjammers.'
In 1997, the Conservative government committed itself to replacing the Royal Yacht if re-elected, while the Labour Party refused to disclose its plans for the vessel. After Labour won the general election in May 1997, it announced the vessel was to be retired and no replacement would be built. The Queen wept openly at the moving decommissioning ceremony for Britannia.
The visit will have been of particular interest to the Duchess who revealed during a speech last week: "I have always been in awe of the sea." The Palace said Kate has a "particular interest in ocean ecology".
The couple listened to a presentation.
The museum houses a model of the Queen Mary II made entirely of lego.
William and Kate made their way through Hamburg’s dockside warehouse quarter to the Elbphilharmonie.
Opened in January 2017, the "Elphi" was built with the aim of creating a new city landmark. It is one of the biggest concert halls in the world and renowned for its advanced acoustics.
They joined the orchestra on stage, before listening to a special performance by the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra. The audience was filled with children from all corners of the city, with the aim of inspiring a new generation to develop a passion for music and perhaps play at the venue in years to come.
Kate conducted a few bars of Beethoven's 5th.
Simon Vigar reports:
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| Simon Vigar Twitter |
On the Elphi with the Mayor.
The Duke and Duchess then departed by boat and travelled down the River Elbe to their final destination for this tour: Airbus.
The scene on the River Elbe.
The company’s base in Hamburg is home to production, maintenance and training facilities. The couple toured the complex and met apprentices, both German and English.
The Duke and Duchess visited the final assembly line of an A320 aircraft and viewed the cockpit of a near-complete plane.
One the final walkabout.
William put a big smile on this little boy's face :)
Then it was time for the Cambridges to head back to London.
Charlotte took a tumble after stomping her feet when Kate took some papers away from her...
....mom Kate quickly caught her.
William and Kate comforted her.
The two-year-old was a little upset but quickly recovered.
A handshake for the Princess.
A video from Sky:
Princess Charlotte is consoled by her mother after appearing to throw a tantrum while the royals are on tour pic.twitter.com/ANgRKf1nbD— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 21, 2017
George and Charlotte joined in to explore an EC145 helicopter - the same one William flies with the East Anglian Air Ambulance.
George very much enjoyed taking a look around!
I think someone might be following in his father's footsteps as a pilot in the future :)
It's wonderful to see George in his element. The birthday boy celebrates his fourth birthday tomorrow. No doubt he's returning to a special party and plenty of presents.
Auf Wiedersehen Deutschland! Goodbye Germany!
Auf Wiedersehen Deutschland! Goodbye Germany! 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/6s5MvtBUUM— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) July 21, 2017
Kate opted for a vibrant pop of colour for the final day of the tour - wearing a lavender bespoke dress by Emilia Wickstead. The knee-length dress features long sleeves and a set-in waistband.
The lavender shade is a favourite of Wickstead, featuring prominently in the designer's Fall 2015 Collection. Below the similar Esther Wool-Crepe Midi Dress, and currently available in a similar colour, the Live Cloque Midi Dress.
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| Emilia Wickstead |
The Duchess embraced the colour-block trend by teaming the dress with a red clutch.
Guilia identified it as the Anya Hindmarch Snakeskin Clutch with gold-tone hardware and tonal stitching throughout. Below, we see it in black.
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| Anya Hindmarch |
Kate accessorised with her Kiki McDonough Lavender Amethyst Pear and Oval Drop Earrings.
Kate debuted the pair in Bhutan last year - they are stunning and work perfectly with the dress.
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| Kiki McDonough |
Kate wore her Gianvito Rossi praline pumps again.
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| Net-A-Porter |
And that brings the tour to a close. I want to thank all of you who followed the tour on the blog with us; I am immensely thankful for all the kind and supportive comments you left. One of the most enjoyable aspects is hearing your thoughts. There was, as one expects with a tour, an influx of new posters (welcome!), and with that I would like to encourage everyone to continue posting using a moniker, as it adds greatly to the quality of conversation. And the most important rule for the comments section: please be respectful to each other. I enjoyed the tour and thought it encompassed some lovely moments. William and Kate meeting the public, including several readers, was a wonderful experience for them, a focus on history and the visit to Stutthof in particular was the stand out moment of the tour for me.
We saw the Duchess opting for a mix of favoured and new designers as she continues to achieve sartorial diplomacy. There's been an increase in bespoke pieces on tours in recent years and less high street choices. It was great seeing George and Charlotte too; it's always a treat to catch glimpses of them growing up and their personalities. We'll look at Kate's wardrobe in depth next week during our Post Tour Polls. Finally, a big thank you to photographers James Whatling, Andrew Parsons, Stephen Lock and all who worked on the Pool Rota throughout - it would be impossible to produce these posts without your photographs. What did you think of the tour? What were your highlights? You can view all the Royal Tour coverage here.
Earlier we mentioned Prince George celebrates his fourth birthday tomorrow. To mark the occasion Kensington Palace released a darling new photograph of the Prince, taken by Chris Jackson at KP last month. Chris is married to Kate's PA/Stylist Natasha Archer. The photographer wrote on Instagram "I'm thrilled and honoured that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen to release this portrait I took to celebrate Prince George's 4th Birthday. He is such a happy little boy and certainly injects some fun into a photoshoot!" The photo was released with the message "TRH are very pleased to share this lovely picture, and would like to thank everyone for all of the kind messages they have received".
It's a terrific photo of George, sending the little Prince the happiest of birthday wishes!
We saw the Duchess opting for a mix of favoured and new designers as she continues to achieve sartorial diplomacy. There's been an increase in bespoke pieces on tours in recent years and less high street choices. It was great seeing George and Charlotte too; it's always a treat to catch glimpses of them growing up and their personalities. We'll look at Kate's wardrobe in depth next week during our Post Tour Polls. Finally, a big thank you to photographers James Whatling, Andrew Parsons, Stephen Lock and all who worked on the Pool Rota throughout - it would be impossible to produce these posts without your photographs. What did you think of the tour? What were your highlights? You can view all the Royal Tour coverage here.
Earlier we mentioned Prince George celebrates his fourth birthday tomorrow. To mark the occasion Kensington Palace released a darling new photograph of the Prince, taken by Chris Jackson at KP last month. Chris is married to Kate's PA/Stylist Natasha Archer. The photographer wrote on Instagram "I'm thrilled and honoured that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen to release this portrait I took to celebrate Prince George's 4th Birthday. He is such a happy little boy and certainly injects some fun into a photoshoot!" The photo was released with the message "TRH are very pleased to share this lovely picture, and would like to thank everyone for all of the kind messages they have received".
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| Kensington Palace |
It's a terrific photo of George, sending the little Prince the happiest of birthday wishes!
