Guest
On 22 October 1992, during Queen Elizabeth II's visit to reunified Germany, the British monarch received a mixed reaction when she visited the city of Dresden. As she arrived at a service of reconciliation, the Queen was greeted with boos and whistles. Some in the crowd even threw eggs. Protesters were there to remind the Queen of the controversial bombing of Dresden by Allied forces in the closing months of the Second World War – and to protest the building of a statue to commemorate Sir Arthur “Bomber“ Harris, the Chief of RAF Bomber Command at the time of the raids. In February 1945, the Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped nearly 4,000 tonnes of high-explosive and incendiary bombs on Dresden, destroying an estimated 6.5 square kilometers of the city and killing between 22,000 – 25,000 people. Debate still rages today about the necessity of the bombing raids and the strategic value of Dresden as a target. The Queen Mother had unveiled the statue commemorating Bomber Harris in Central London in May 1992, just months before the Queen's visit to Germany. At the service of reconciliation, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh read to the congregation in German. The next leg of their Royal tour was Leipzig, where the Queen received a much warmer welcome. #QueenElizabeth #QueenElizabethII #TheQueen #Germany #Dresden #RAF #WWII #SecondWorldWar To license the footage featured in this clip, follow the link below: To search the ITN Archive collection on Getty Images, follow the link below: 🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel (tap the bell icon and stay up to date with all the latest ITN Archive videos!) - @ITNArchive 🎥 Follow us on Twitter - 🎥 Like us on Facebook - 🎥 Check out our TikTok - @itnarchive1955
