Queen Elizabeth reflects on ‘Jamestown legacy’

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of America's first English settlement, Queen Elizabeth II on Friday walked through a replica village as crowds lined her path to catch a glimpse of royalty.

The queen, flanked by Vice President Dick Cheney and Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine, strolled through tourist village of Jamestown, with its thatch-roofed buildings and sailing ships, a day after reflecting on the "Jamestown legacy" as one that included costs to Africans and Native Americans.

In his welcoming remarks Friday, Cheney noted the queen’s last visit to Jamestown 50 years ago.

“Half a century has done nothing to diminish the respect and affection this country holds for you. We receive you again today in that same spirit,” Cheney told the queen in a welcoming speech.

The queen was also greeted by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who said American law derived from Great Britain “is the great and lasting achievement we celebrate today.”

Cultural changes cited
The queen did not speak at the event. But on Thursday she addressed the Virginia General Assembly, where she praised the cultural changes that have occurred since her last visit. Then, the 350th anniversary was an all-white affair in a state with a government in open defiance of a 1954 Supreme Court order to desegregate public schools.

MSNBC video Etiquette tips May 4: Virginia officials put out etiquette tips for "commoners" in greeting the queen. NBC's Kevin Corke reports. MSNBC

"We are now in a position to reflect more candidly on the Jamestown legacy," she said of the 50 years since her last visit. "Human progress rarely comes without cost. And those early years in Jamestown, when three great civilizations came together for the first time, Western European, Native American and African, released a train of events which continues to have a profound social impact, not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom and Europe.

"Over the course of my reign, and certainly since I first visited Jamestown in 1957, my country has become a much more diverse society, just as the Commonwealth of Virginia and the whole United States of America have also undergone major social change," she added. "The 'melting pot' metaphor captures one of the great strengths of your country, and is an inspiration to others around the world, as we face the continuing social challenges ahead."

"It is right that we continue to reassess the meaning of historical events in the changing context of the present, not least in this, the 200th anniversary, in the United Kingdom, of the act of parliament to abolish the Trans-Atlantic slave trade."

Lighter side on tour
At Jamestown, the queen walked to the James River, where replicas of the three ships the settlers arrived in were docked. A cannon was fired from one of the ships in tribute to her.

Later, the queen and Cheney went to nearby Historic Jamestowne, where archaeologists have found remains of the original fort. She was shown excavation trays containing chess pieces, iron knives, copper baubles and the discarded claws of crabs that had been a meal for the settlers centuries ago.

At a museum of objects excavated from the site, she stopped at a display of medical instruments, including a spatula for treatment of constipation.

“David!” she called to Cmdr. David Swain, a Royal Navy doctor who travels with her. “You ought to have some things like that.”

NBC News video Kentucky Derby May 4: Preparations are being made for Queen Elizabeth's visit to watch the Derby. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports. Today show

At a ceremony in the brick church at Jamestown, built in 1907 near the original church frame dating to 1617, the queen presented a handmade, elaborately carved Windsor chair as a gift to the people of Virginia.

“Would you like to try it out?” the queen asked Gov. Kaine. He did, to laughter and applause.

Later, at a private luncheon in Colonial Williamsburg, the restored 18th-century capital of Virginia, the queen returned to her more staid persona.

MORE FROM EUROPE

Europe Section Front

NYT: Obama wows Europe — vaguely   Obama's brief stop in Paris belies popularity New IVF dilemmas make old fears seem quaint Election loss deals blow to U.K.'s Brown Men with bars, bats attack refugees in Norway Paparazzi, guards fight at Jolie chateau Climbing fall kills 4 as mom watches French military to slash troop levels Man stunned that Karadzic used his ID Ukraine leader: Ex-ally tied to poisoning Europe Section Front   Add Europe headlines to your news reader: