Berliners applaud Queen Elizabeth at opening of new British embassy

British Queen Elizabeth stands next to a plaque commemorating the opening of the new British embassy during a ceremony in Berlin on Tuesday

BERLIN (Reuters) -- Queen Elizabeth opened a controversial new British embassy in the heart of reunified Berlin on Tuesday on the site of the old building, destroyed by Allied bombers during World War II.

Several thousand Berliners and tourists came to catch a glimpse of the 74-year-old monarch on her fifth trip to the city, clapping, cheering and waving British flags as she toured the capital's landmarks with her husband Prince Philip.

At a champagne reception marking the official opening of the futuristic $35 million building, the Queen told guests it reflected an important shift in European history.

MESSAGE BOARD Germany today

"Berlin will no longer be an outpost but a geographic center of the continent. Where formerly West and East confronted each other, now they can come together here," the Queen said, adding that eastward expansion of the European Union was the next test.

One German critic slammed British architect Michael Wilford's building -- with a letterbox-like slit letting light through a sandstone facade -- as mediocre and uninspired.

Wilford said his design symbolized Britain's developing relationship with Europe.

"The open courtyard shows our willingness to converse and opens up the building to the German people," he told Reuters.

"I would like to think this is a very modern building, but its external facade respects the history of the city."

But many were unconvinced by bubblegum colors, a shining metal open-plan interior and wood-paneled floors.

"My husband's an architect and we think it's too much of a mix of colors and styles -- it doesn't blend," said 56-year-old fashion consultant Veronika Zanetti. "It could've been better."

Wilford said Prince Philip had asked if he had been paid.

Ambassador Sir Paul Lever praised the design as "exciting, striking, stylish and open."

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer thanked Britain for standing up to Adolf Hitler, supporting Berlin during the Cold War -- and the Beatles.

"Sergeant Pepper wasn't just a new album for me, it was the symbol of a new lifestyle," he told a laughing crowd.

The old British embassy at the same site on the Wilhelmstrasse had also attracted barbs. A pre-war ambassador, Sir Nevile Henderson, called it "cramped, dirty and dark."

The Queen ended her trip with a visit to the new British Council building, where she mingled briefly with well-wishers.

"It was a very beautiful moment," said Gudrun Isle, smiling as she held up a portrait of a youthful Queen around the time of her coronation half a century ago. "And she looks good as an old woman -- age doesn't make us all look pretty you know."

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