Such state visits are used to reinforce alliances and to encourage trade, with the German trip following last month's state visit by US President Donald Trump.

State visits are a mix of political and business meetings, alongside royal pageantry and a diplomatic red-carpet welcome, with a banquet, military parade and carriage rides.

The visit follows a treaty between Germany and the UK signed in the summer, known as the Kensington Treaty, which agreed to create a direct rail link between London and Berlin, as part of measures bringing the countries closer together.

There are plans for more cultural ties such as school exchanges, stronger military links, business investments and joint efforts to tackle illegal migration and people smuggling.

The King and Queen will be returning the hospitality to President Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender for their own visit to Germany in March 2023, in what was the first overseas state visit of the new reign.

That first visit as King proved to be a diplomatic success, with the King making a well-received speech to the German Bundestag in Berlin, where he spoke about the importance of Germany's efforts in supporting Ukraine after the invasion by Russia.

In a symbolic moment of reconciliation, he also went to Hamburg where he laid a wreath remembering those who had died in the Allied bombing of the city during the Second World War.

The last German state visit to the UK was in December 1998, by President Roman Herzog, where he became the first head of state to visit Windsor Castle after the fire of 1992.

Queen Elizabeth II hosted the visit and her state banquet speech spoke of the importance of both countries belonging to international organisations, "headed by the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation", which helped "to extend our reach and achieve goals which would be impossible on our own".

In that 1998 speech, which would have been written with the advice of the government, she also expressed the hope that Germany would become a permanent member of the UN Security Council - which so far has not happened

The announcement of the 2025 German state visit adds to what is already a busy autumn schedule for the King, who is still undergoing cancer treatment.

The King and Queen will be travelling to meet Pope Leo next week, for a rearranged state visit to the Vatican. A previously planned visit was postponed because of the ill-health of the late Pope Francis.

First German state visit to UK for 27 years announced | Today Headline