BERLIN (AP) — King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands on Monday started a three-day visit to Germany that was delayed from last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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

In persistent rain, they were 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.

The Associated Press