German president's UK state visit will celebrate strategic ties and recall historic scars

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will be greeted by brass bands and royalty Wednesday when he arrives for a U.K. state visit that will celebrate the close ties between the countries while also remembering the scars of the past. King Charles III will welcome Steinmeier and his wife, Elke Büdenbender, to Windsor Castle for the start of a three-day tour featuring all the pomp and ceremony the U.K. traditionally rolls out for its honored guests. On Friday, the couple will visit Coventry Cathedral to commemorate the Nazi bombing of the city, which killed at least 568 people and destroyed or damaged more than half of its homes on the night of Nov. 14, 1940.