900 officers deployed to police start of King Charles’ state visit 

Berlin, Mar. 23, (dpa/GNA) - About 900 Berlin police officers are on duty to ensure security at the start of the state visit by Britain’s King Charles III and his wife Camilla on Wednesday, according to a police spokeswoman. 

The area around the luxury Hotel Adlon at the Brandenburg Gate, where the royal couple is staying, is cordoned off. Barricades with gates were also in place in the wider government district, where Charles will be received in Bellevue Palace, the official residence of the Federal President, as well as in the Federal Chancellery and the Bundestag. 

Police are restricting access to Pariser Platz in front of the Brandenburg Gate, where some 1,500 spectators were admitted only after security checks to witness a military welcome for the king. 

Special units of the German Federal Criminal Police Office and bodyguards from Britain are responsible for the direct security of the royal couple. 

Numerous explosive sniffer dogs are also being deployed to check key locations and vehicles. 

On Thursday, the number of police officers deployed is expected to rise to 1,100 because of the royal couple’s many appointments in Berlin. 

GNA