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1 From: Sent time: Wednesday, April 18, :44:18 PM To: Leighty, Bill; Howe, Amanda Subject: In strict confidence: HM's speeches Attachments: Williamsburg Lunch.doc Virginia Assembly.doc Bill/Amanda I know that you are very pressed. But it would we very helful to have your input on these drafts I prepared. They have gone to the Palace who are broadly content, I understand. They will probably cut back a bit. Plus also add a passage on the Virginia Tech tragedy. I'd welcome your input on an informal basis if you have the time. In particular: please let me know if I have struck any jarring or anachronistic notes; or strayed into dangerous territory inadvertently; or missed out something or somebody in a way that would give offence; or got my history wrong; or oversimplified the issues; or simply got the tone not quite right There are a couple of gaps pending further research. If you know the answers off hand, please let me know. Otherwise, don't worry. I'll be also showing to Colin Campbell on a similar basis, but no one else... Hope all's well in the circs. Dominic <<05.03 Virginia Assembly.doc>> <<EXCHANGE(SE).RA ATT>> Dominic Martin British Embassy Washington dominic.martin@fco.gov.uk Tel: *********************************************************************************** Visit for British foreign policy news and travel advice; and uk.com the essential guide to the UK. We keep and use information in line with the Data Protection Act We may release this personal information to other UK government departments and public authorities. Please note that all messages sent and received by members of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and its missions overseas may be monitored centrally. This is done to ensure the integrity of the system. ***********************************************************************************

2 05.04 Williamsburg Lunch.doc SPEECH BY HM THE QUEEN AT LUNCH AT COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG ON FRIDAY 4 MAY 2007 Vice President Cheney, Governor Kaine, Mr Colin Campbell, President of Colonial Williamsburg, Justic O Connor, Senators, Representatives and other distinguished guests [check protocol] I am very grateful to the Governor and Mr Campbell for their warm welcome. Prince Philip and I are delighted to be back in Williamsburg 50 years after our last visit. I have been looking forward to this visit for a very long time. Some of the most vivid memories of the early years of my reign are from that first visit in Before I arrived in America this time, I had heard wonderful things about the many changes and new discoveries, both in Jamestown and in Williamsburg, that I would find here. But descriptions cannot prepare one for the reality. My visit to the Jamestown Settlement and Historic Jamestowne this morning was truly magical, both joyous and moving in turn. I am very impressed by the new educational facilities at both locations.

3 05.04 Williamsburg Lunch.doc It is difficult to describe the sheer poignance of walking around the archaeological site where the original fort once stood. At the risk of sounding hackneyed, it is truly possible to imagine just what those early settlers must have been thinking when they first made landfall on the James River. I am most grateful to the estimable Bill Kelso, who did so much to bring the hidden treasures of Jamestown to the public eye, for acting as my guide. I must also record my appreciation of the extraordinary achievement that is Colonial Wiliamsburg itself. The realisation of the dream of John D Rockefeller and [insert name of the clergyman] 70 [?check] years ago has created a version of living history unmatched anywhere in the world. I would like to pay tribute to all those individuals and organisations which have devoted so much time and energy to developing the Historic Triangle as a centre of historical excellence. As I said at the Capitol in Richmond yesterday, the Jamestown landing is not just a historical fact, but a symbol. A symbol of a coming together of civilisations, a symbol of the spread of the rule of law, a symbol of the

4 05.04 Williamsburg Lunch.doc growth of representative democracy. It is also the symbol of friendship a friendship between the United States and Great Britain which has blossomed over the course of the last two centuries into one of the most durable international collaborations anywhere in the world at any time in history. And a symbol of the transatlantic alliance which has played such a positive role in the momentous international developments that have taken place during my reign. At a personal level, our visits to Jamestown and Williamsburg, separated by 50 years, symbolise for Prince Philip and me the extraordinary friendship and welcome we have received during our many visits to the United States over the years. Jamestown and Williamsburg will always occupy a very special place in our hearts. I would once again like to pay tribute to you all and thank you again for welcoming us here today.

5 SPEECH BY HM THE QUEEN TO THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY Mr Speaker, Governor, Delegates, Senators [check for correct protocol] Thank you for your generous welcome to Virginia and to Thomas Jefferson s splendid Capitol. Prince Philip and I are delighted to be here today. I would like to pay tribute to the many people who have been involved in the painstaking and beautiful restoration of this marvellous building. Jefferson s career offers a model for public service that few in history can match. Governor of Virginia at the age of 36, Minister to France in the years following the Revolutionary Wars, he was America s first Secretary of State, its second Vice-President and Third President. Jefferson portrays himself as a reluctant public servant. When preparing to leave Washington at the end of his second term as President in 1809 [check that it is not 1808], he wrote:

6 never did a prisoner released from his chains feel such relief as I shall on shaking off the shackles of power. Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them my supreme delight. But the enormities of the times in which I have lived, have forced me to take a part in resisting them and to commit myself on the boisterous ocean of political passion. We can all agree that the world is a better place because of Jefferson s decision to devote himself to public service. And as this building shows designed from afar while serving in Paris - Jefferson did at least find some time for the tranquil pursuits of science. Thomas Jefferson memorably had his differences with my country. History relates the fractious nature of his relationship with the British Ambassador during his time as President, a certain Mr Merry [check not Sir ]. Merry by name, but not by nature: he reputedly spent most of his posting in Washington in a state of high dudgeon, much of which was provoked by his relationship or, perhaps I should say, lack of relationship - with the President. I am glad to say that this is not a model of diplomacy that more recent British Ambassadors in your country have followed.

7 I visit Virginia this week to celebrate the 400 th anniversary of the landing of a small group of British citizens [Englishmen?] at a small Island in what we now call the James River. With the benefit of hindsight, we can see in that event the origins of a singular project: the building of a great nation, founded on the eternal values of democracy and equality, based on the rule of law and the promotion of freedom. But hindsight is dangerous. 400 years ago, it was by no means preordained that this venture would deliver such an outcome. At the time, the Jamestown experiment seemed fraught with risk. Similar settlements, such as the one at Roanoke, a few hundred miles down the coast [check location], failed abjectly. What was it about those early institutions in Jamestown that planted the seed that led to the blossoming of this great country? It is impossible to say for sure. But I am sure that it has much to do with the ideas and values of that groups of adventurers and idealists who set out all those years ago.

8 Recent archaeological discoveries have changed our understanding of the original settlement at Jamestown. For many years, the conventional wisdom was that the Jamestown Settlement suffered from fatal flaws. Its location was chosen badly. The colony was full of indolent noblemen, with a propensity to spend their hours playing bowls along the streets of the settlement. In fact, recent archaeology suggests that the site was a perfectly logical choice. And there were clearly large numbers of craftsmen and other hard working citizens in the original colony. When I visited Jamestown 50 years ago, there was little to see except a small church - though the sheer physical beauty of the site was manifest. 50 years on, there is, I understand a wealth of new discoveries to witness and explore. I look forward to my visit tomorrow. The development of the United States from its humble origins in Jamestown all those years ago owes everything to the ingenuity and the idealism of countless men and women. Some of these are great figures of history, some have names that are no longer familiar, but all were committed to a concept of justice and liberty that has acted as a beacon throughout the world.

9 And, of course, many of these figures came from the great State of Virginia. [Opportunity to mention of some great Virginians of US history]. Just as we have revised our understanding of the early history of the settlement, so we are re-evaluating the significance of the Jamestown legacy. When I visited 50 years ago, we celebrated the 350 th Anniversary largely from the perspective of the British settlers in their ships. We feted concepts such as exploration to new worlds, the spread of values, ideas and the English language, the ingenuity and sacrifice of the early settlers. These are all worthy virtues today and we still appreciate their impact. But, 50 years on, we are now in a position to reflect more candidly on the more uneasy parts of the Jamestown legacy. Human progress rarely comes without cost. And in that moment in Jamestown, when three great civilisations came together for the first time Western European, Native American and African a train of events was started which had profound social impact, not only in the United States, but also in Great Britain and Europe. We still feel that impact today.

10 I am delighted that, at the foot of the Capitol stairs, Prince Philip and I were welcomed by the Chiefs of the Native American Tribes of Virginia and by Mayor Douglas Wilder, a distinguished former Governor of the State, representing the African-American community. This was a fitting symbol of the coming together of the three traditions. It is perhaps a happy coincidence that 2007 also marks the 200 th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the United Kingdom, following the efforts of another great champion of liberty and equality, William Wilberforce. Over the course of my reign, and certainly since I first visited Jamestown in 1957, my country has become a greatly more diverse and integrated society, just as the State of Virginia and indeed the whole United States of America have also undergone major social change. The metaphor of the melting pot has become something of a cliché. But it is a metaphor that captures one of the great strengths of your country. It is an inspiration to others around the world, including my own.

11 When Governor Kaine visited the Middle Temple in London in December last year, he talked movingly of the enduring legacy of Jamestown. He said that the 400 th anniversary was a recognition of an unbreakable bond of friendship between the English people and all Virginians and Americans. I would like to conclude by echoing those fine sentiments. Friendship is a complex concept. It means being able to debate openly, even disagree on occasion, safe in the knowledge that the bonds that tie us together are far stronger than any temporary differences of opinion. The people of my country have such a relationship with the United States, based on the bonds of friendship and shared values. And we have not least for reasons of history a very special place in our hearts for the state of Virginia.