Queen Elizabeth reflects on ‘Jamestown legacy’

“My visits to Jamestown and Williamsburg, separated by 50 years, symbolize for me the warmth and welcome Prince Philip and I have always received during our many visits to the United States over the years,” she said.

While the queen ate in Williamsburg, her husband was in Norfolk, where he met with the families of 14 service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He asked each of them how their loved ones were doing and when they would be coming home.

After lunch, at the College of William and Mary, the queen was welcomed at a gathering in the courtyard of the Sir Christopher Wren Building. Built between 1695 and 1699, it is the oldest college building in the United States, school officials said.

The royal couple then left for Louisville, Ky., where the queen will attend Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. Her plane landed shortly before 6 p.m. Next week she visits President Bush in Washington.

Virginia Tech shootings
In her speech Thursday, the queen also mentioned the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech, where a gunman killed 32 people and then himself.

Afterward, she met briefly with students and faculty from Virginia Tech, including three who were wounded. Among them was Kathleen Carney, who was shot in the hand during the massacre and presented the queen with a bracelet with 32 jewels — one for each person slain — in the school’s colors, maroon and orange.

“My heart goes out to the students, friends and families of those killed and to the many others who have been affected, some of whom I shall be meeting shortly,” the queen said during the speech. “On behalf of the people of the United Kingdom, I extend my deepest sympathies at this time of such grief and sorrow.”

Elizabeth also met with 100-year-old Oliver W. Hill, a civil rights attorney whose litigation helped bring about that 1954 desegregation decision.

MORE FROM EUROPE

Europe Section Front

Ex-Ohio autoworker tried for 27,900 deaths Key adviser: U.S. did not expect to stabilize Iraq Newsweek: My Nazi revenge Polanski stuck in jail as Swiss await bail money   Iran holds yacht with 5 U.K. nationals Debate grows over Swiss ban on minarets Lawyer: Alleged killer Knox ‘naive, imprudent’ Finland marks 70th anniversary of Winter War Europe Section Front   Add Europe headlines to your news reader: