BERLIN

Queen Elizabeth II of Britain has started her three-day official visit in the capital Berlin with meetings with German leaders on Wednesday.

Accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, the Queen was first welcomed by German President Joachim Gauck and his partner Daniela Schadt on the doorstep of Bellevue Palace, the president's residence in Berlin.

The royal couple received a military welcoming ceremony in the garden of the palace after the Queen signed the presidential guestbook.

President Gauck presented Elizabeth II with a painting called Horse in Royal Blue by German painter Nicole Leidenfrost, who depicted the Queen as a young princess riding a blue pony.

Following private talks with Gauck, the 89-year-old monarch boarded an open-top boat with Prince Philip, 94, and cruised on the Spree River, which flows near the Bellevue Palace.

She waved to people who had gathered on the banks of the Spree. The bridges were decorated with British flags.

After the boat trip, the Queen also held a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Federal Chancellery.

The monarch is also scheduled to visit the Neue Wache (or New Guardhouse) Memorial Monument for war victims, attend a lecture at Berlin Technical University, and a state banquet is to be hosted by President Gauck in her honor.

On Thursday, the royal couple will move on to the Germany's financial heart, Frankfurt, before returning to Berlin.

The royals are expected to leave the capital on Friday.

The Queen's last visit to Germany was in 2004.