King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands have arrived in Germany for a three-day visit that was delayed from last year because of the coronavirus pandemic

ByThe Associated Press

July 5, 2021, 9:26 AM

• 1 min read

BERLIN -- King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands arrived in Germany on Monday for a three-day visit that was delayed from last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The royal couple were greeted with a 21-gun salute after landing in wet weather at Berlin's airport at the beginning of Willem-Alexander’s first state visit to Germany since he became king in 2013.

Later Monday, they will be received by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at his Bellevue palace. They are also expected to visit Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

A meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel also is on the agenda during this week's visit.

Willem-Alexander and Maxima were last in Germany in 2019, when they visited the state of Brandenburg, which surrounds Berlin. The king has some German roots — his father, Prince Claus, was German-born.

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