King Charles lays wreath for WWII bombing victims in Hamburg

Hamburg: King Charles III on Friday commemorated German victims of World War II Allied air raids, 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, visited the St Nikolai memorial in Hamburg, where he laid a wreath.

The move, in the ruins of a church, is unprecedented for a British sovereign. TV commentators on rolling news channel NTV calling it a "great, great symbol".

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

After laying the wreath alongside Steinmeier and Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher, Charles stood for a moment with his head bowed.

Then Queen Consort Camilla placed a white rose at the memorial.

Ahead of the ceremony, Germany´s biggest-selling daily Bild said Charles´ gesture at the memorial "will say more than any speech".

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